Progeny
by Lady Savage
Summary: Post The Gift: After Buffy leaps through the portal, saving the world yet again, she wakes up to find the world a different place. Not only have the people she knows and loves changed, but she herself is different
1. Waking

**A/N:**_ Yet another challenge fic, this one is (again) a bit of a first for me. This is relatively canon 'til the beginning, but there are some vast differences that should become apparent as we go along. I'm not going to ruin anything here, but I'd like to firmly blame _Casey_ for this one. Damn addictive ideas. I also have to acknowledge _Jules_, who gave me a delightful idea that has made this fic unique in more than one respect. It's still em that makes it this good though:P_

**Disclaimer:**_ For a change, some of these characters are actually mine. Of course, most of them I've stolen from the oh-so-sexy Joss, but can any of you blame me? Is it my fault his sexy genius is so stealable? Or that I'm such a sucker for a chance to try something new? Well, okay, so maybe that last one is my fault but you're the one reading this. If you didn't encourage me then I'd probably stop. Well not really. I don't want to test that theory. Show me you love me, pwease?_

_**.:Progeny:.**_

Buffy felt an overwhelming sense of dread as she looked at the glowing violet portal. She was too late, always too late. Too late to save Jenny Calender. Too late to stop Riley from leaving. Too late to save her mom. Too late to save Dawn. Too late to save the world. What was that saying? A day late and a dollar short. That was her. Always too late, not enough. Never quite enough.

Dawn's blood had opened the portal. Dawn's blood would close it. Summers blood would close it. Life was hard, a struggle to be happy, to feel joy, to _feel_. It would be so easy, so blissfully easy to slip into oblivion. She could do this. She could jump. She'd save Dawn, save the world. She wouldn't be a day late or a dollar short. She'd be exactly what was required, Summers blood. Death was her gift. It was what she gave night after night, and it would be a relief to give it one more time. One last gift. So easy, just enough.

"Buffy, no," Dawn pleaded softly.

The Slayer looked at her sister sadly, her green eyes hollow, unable to feel, like they'd been for too long. "Dawnie," she tried to explain. "I have to -"

"NO!" Dawn shrieked. It was clear that she didn't want to lose someone else, didn't want to lose her final bit of family. Couldn't she see? Buffy was broken. If she wasn't, the things she'd done with- it would be better by far if Dawn survived. Buffy needed to make her see that.

"Listen to me!" Buffy yelled over the creaking whine of the tower. "Please, there's not a lot of time, listen." Buffy blinked as the wind suddenly gusted. Dawn's face was shining with tears, and Buffy's own face was wet with them. It was almost a relief to know she was still human enough to cry. "Dawn listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will _always_ love you. This is the work I have to do. Tell Giles," here Buffy paused, unsure. "Tell Giles I figured it out. And... I'm okay. Give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."

Remembering the pain and the shame of these last months made the jump easier. It was so easy to fall. Energy pulled at her, scalding, freezing, crushing. A maelstrom of sound wrapped the falling Slayer in it's grasp, demanding to be heard, refusing to be ignored. Agony lancing through her body, surpassing all that had come before it, greater than the Master's bite, Angelus' bite, Spike's-- Spike. The sensation of her eyeballs melting into her skull, her organs rupturing into a fine mist, revealing one fact with crystal clarity - she did not want to die - then… nothing.

Buffy didn't move. Still nothing happened. No more noise or light or pain. It was actually kind of boring. She'd expected something a little better from the afterlife. The Slayer tentatively cracked open a single eyelid. She saw an azure sky. Nothing happened. Buffy opened both eyes widely and waited. Nada.

As far as an afterlife went, this was a bit anticlimactic. No choirs of angels or demons with pointy pitch-forks. No reincarnation, no light, no comforting warmth. It was actually a touch chilly. There was a subtle something else, too, but she couldn't pinpoint it exactly. It made her a little uneasy. Other than

that, this was really boring.

Buffy sighed and shifted her view to the side. The top of a building came into view. Whoops. Maybe not so much the afterlife. Getting to her feet and dusting herself off, Buffy looked around. She was in the courtyard for a church. She'd been lying in the driveway, looking up at the stars. Well, that explains the chilly sensation.

The Slayer began to walk down the road. The street seemed a little familiar. In fact, all the streets seemed a little familiar. It was a major case of déjà vu. It wasn't until she passed a street sign that she figured out why. She was in Sunnydale.

This was odd, even for a Hellmouth. First, it's night and she's fighting a Hellgod. She beats Glory, and runs up the rickety tower. She's too late and the portal opens. Dawn wants to jump in the portal, but Buffy beats her to it and jumps in. There's a lot of pain and noise and a dissolving feeling - which was really freaky - and then she's in Sunnydale in the middle of the afternoon and everything is a little bit different. Maybe she was in the Hellmouthy version of the Twilight Zone.

Buffy found herself unconsciously walking the habitual path to Revello drive and home. The nearer she drew to the Summers home the less her surroundings were different. As the stores petered out and the houses became more and more common, the more unchanged Sunnydale seemed to be. By the time she got to Revello, it was almost identical to the way she remembered it.

She trudged up the sidewalk to the reassuring image of her house. 1630 Revello Drive was the same as always. Except, Buffy noted, for the little blonde girl crouching in the flower bed beneath the window. Buffy approached slowly. The child was thin, with a pale blonde bob. Her face was plump, but she had a delicate nose and bright, blue eyes.

"Hey there," she said in a friendly tone, kneeling next to the little girl.

"My daddy says I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," she said in clear voice.

"My name's Buffy. What's yours?"

The girl smiled shyly. "Caitlin."

Buffy grinned. "There, we're not strangers any more, are we?"

An impish expression appeared on the child's face and she shook her head thoroughly. "I'm hiding," she confided in a conspiratorial whisper.

"From who?" Buffy asked, playing along.

The girl leaned even closer. "I'm hiding from my Auntie Fayt. She lives here," the girl added with possessive pride.

Buffy felt her smile falter as her heart sank. This wasn't her Sunnydale. This adorable little girl's Aunt Fayt lives in 1630 Revello Drive, not Buffy and Dawn Summers. To cover her growing despair, Buffy asked, "Why are you hiding from your Aunt Fayt?"

Caitlin giggled infectiously. " 'cause it's funny."

As she stifled a laugh, Buffy decided to do the responsible thing. Slayer duty and all, protect the innocent. "It's not nice to hide from grown ups."

It was uncanny, and a little bit scary, how fast the amusement slid off Caitlin's face to be replaced by a fierce glare. She forgot completely about hiding and rose to her full height, all 3'5" and 40 pounds of her, fists on hips and an expression of intense concentration scrunching up her pretty little face.

"There you are," a voice from inside the house said, sounding very relieved, and Caitlin's expression melted into one of dismay. "You better get in here, kiddo, or your daddy's going to kill both of us."

Caitlin giggled and skipped towards the front door, leaving Buffy to marvel at the child's mercurial temper. While kneeling in the flowerbed. Feeling incredibly stupid, the Slayer stood and dusted herself off, before looking up into the face of a person she'd hoped to never see again.

"B," Faith breathed, her eyes wide.

Buffy acted purely on instinct. She clenched her fists and lunged at the other Slayer, passing right through her and out the other side, falling flat on her face. Shocked beyond words, Buffy rose and glanced at Faith, only to see the same surprise mirrored on the dark Slayer's face. Caitlin's eyes were huge and full of awe.

"That was _wicked_! Do it again!"

**XXX**

"I've been gone for six years?" Buffy asked incredulously.

Faith nodded solemnly. Looking at Faith, Buffy could hardly warrant it. Same long dark hair, same elegant face, some athletic build, same outrageous style. To all outward appearances, the once-rogue Slayer appeared unchanged, but the way she acted with Caitlin and the easy rapport Dawn had with her indicated otherwise.

"Is that really you, Buffy?" Dawn asked for the fortieth time.

Dawn! Buffy could hardly believe it. Her little sister was older than her, in her final year of college, a full-grown woman. Buffy felt an ache in her chest when she thought about all the things she'd missed. Dawn was sitting next to Buffy, clearly in shock, with Caitlin perched on her knee. The little girl kept pushing her hand through Buffy and out the other side, grinning maniacally the whole time.

"Hey guys," Xander's voice called out from the front hallway, "what's the big-- Buffy?"

**XXX**

Caitlin Roselyn Barclay was having the bestest time in her life, ever. First she'd been able to convince Daddy to let her spend the day with Auntie Fayt who has some of the bestest cartoons ever, and then Auntie Fayt had wanted to play hide and seek. Well, she said she wanted Katie to have a bath, but everyone in the whole wide world knows that Caitlin Roselyn Barclay does not have baths without Mr Squid-thing. Obviously Auntie Fayt wanted to play hide and seek and she was trying to be sneaky about it.

Katie had found the bestest hiding place ever, and then she met Buffy. Katie had tried to be good, she really did, but Buffy looked really friendly and interesting and she was standing in the sunlight so it wasn't as if she was a vampire so it was probably okay that she spoke to Buffy and she probably shouldn't get in trouble for talking to a stranger, because she wasn't really a stranger at all. Then the bestest thing in the whole wide world happened.

Buffy had tried to play tag with Auntie Fayt and just _passed right through her_! It was the wickedest thing ever. They all went inside and Auntie Fayt called up Auntie Bit and Uncle Whelp and Auntie Anya and Daddy and even Uncle Poof.

Auntie Fayt and Buffy has started talking about the most boringest things ever, so Katie decided to see if she'd go through Buffy too. She prodded a finger into Buffy's leg and _it went inside her_! Plus, it made her finger go all cold and funny. It was the coolest thing ever. Buffy didn't even notice.

Then Auntie Bit had got there and they were crying and talking about more boring things, so Katie kept playing with Buffy. It felt so cool when her hand went inside of Buffy. Buffy was the bestest ghost ever. Way better than that bogeyman who tried to sneak into Auntie Bit's house. All he could do is make funny faces, and Daddy could do that.

Then Uncle Xander and Auntie Anya has come over and they even brought Katie's bestest friends in the whole wide world ever. Well, except for Seth when he was being the biggest stupid-head in the world and except for Sarah when she didn't want to play the fun games Katie made up, like paint Auntie Fayt's kitchen with eggs.

Katie pulled Seth into a corner, his little sister trailing like always, and told him everything that happened.

"No way," he scoffed. "You know Auntie Fayt scares ghosts away almost as much as your dad."

"No, it's true!" Katie protested, her blue eyes shining with sincerity. "I poked her like this," Katie demonstrated with a sharp jab into the other five-year-old's ribs, "and it went straight through her!"

Seth cast a speculative eye to the grown-ups. They were all standing around the tiny blonde lady. "I don't know," he said slowly. "She's not even going 'oooOOOooo' and she doesn't have any chopped off heads or bunnies or _anything_." His point well made, he gave Katie a smug look. "I bet she's not even a ghost."

"She is too!" Katie growled, raising a fist to punch her friend. He was being the biggest stupid-head ever.

Seth froze, his mouth open to retort, and he watched his mom stick her hand into the short blonde lady. "Oh, that's _cool_!" He looked at Katie in a nonchalant fashion. "What does it feel like?"

Katie cast him a sly smile. "It feels like custard."

"I always wanted to see what a custard bath was like," Seth mused.

The pair grinned at each other at the exact same time, before charging at Buffy with a mighty "AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

They passed through the stunned group of grown-ups and dodged Auntie Fayt's attempt to catch them -- Slayer speed was nothing compared to the manic reflexes of an excited child -- before leaping into Buffy's stomach. It felt like they had jumped through a giant blob of jelly. They rolled as they came out the other side with the well-practiced ease of a child of five.

"That was fan-bloody-tastic," Katie breathed happily, laying on the floor next to her bestest friend in the whole wide world, who nodded.

"Watch your language, Bite-size," a familiar British voice drawled.

He was standing in the doorway with a smoking grey blanket slung over his shoulder, one hand smoothing down his white hair. Katie jumped to her feet and ran at the vampire, arms held out for a big hug.

"Daddy!"

**XXX**

**A/N:**_ Yes, I know. It's yet another long fic. I'm thinking about taking one of the others down, but I haven't decided yet. There's a good chance it'll be a while before I update this (same as always, eh?) but a good response will inspire speedy updates, so REVIEW. _


	2. Catching Up

**A/N:**_ I've been forcing this out through an uncomfortable writer's block, and so this might not be very good. Of course, if it's good it shows me how absolutely fantastic I am and you should all praise me! Okay, so I'm lonely and I want reviews. Show your love people!_

**Disclaimer:**_ Only one person was probed during the making of this chapter and it was entirely unrelated to the fic. In point of fact, I'm relatively sure it heads into Too Much Information territory, which is a lovely country full of manacles and leather heels._

**XXXXX**

_**Catching up**_

It was entirely overwhelming. In most situations Buffy found herself in, she was whelmed. Underwhelmed even. This was out of her league. It wasn't the big things that were bothering her. Survive certain death, become a ghost, travel in time, all standard for a Slayer in the line of duty on a Hellmouth. Her problems were the small details. Well, maybe not so small.

Spike had a kid. An adorable little girl who was currently dozing in his arms. No word on the mother, but Buffy hadn't really asked. You know, vampire with a kid and all. Pretty big news, as far as news went. Angel and Giles had both always said that vampires couldn't have babies and she'd always thought one of them would know. Hell, even she'd know. Either no-one knew or they were all keeping hush about it.

That wasn't all the big news, either. Tara had died, and Willow had turned evil to get revenge against the demons who killed her. Tara, who'd been so supportive of Buffy until she got brain sucked by Glory. Buffy was sure she would be grieving later.

Giles had moved back to England, taking Willow with him. Apparently he couldn't bear to live in Sunnydale after Tara was killed as well, and he took Willow to some coven or convent or something so she'd stop being all evil and vengeancy.

Xander and Anya had gotten married, too, and had two kids of their own. Xander looked a lot older, really grown up, and he had a scar that led up into his hairline - the remnants of an apocalypse attempt. Anya had aged well, and she looked really happy. Their kids were adorable.

Dawn had grown up the most, though. In her final year of college and graduating with a major in psychology. She wasn't a gangly teen anymore, no she was… a woman. She wore her hair a lot shorter now, and she had something on that wasn't a pastel colour. She probably didn't even listen to boy bands anymore, and Buffy felt a pang in her chest when she realised how much she'd missed.

"I'm on patrol tonight," Spike said. "Mind if I leave her here for the night, love?"

Faith nodded. "No problem, Spike."

"Thanks," he said, relieved, "I don't like leaving her at home alone, and bringing her with me probably isn't the best idea. I'll be around to pick her up tomorrow, after I wake up."

Dawn perked up at the comment. "Can you pick me up before you come here tomorrow, Spike?" she asked suddenly. "I have really important classes tomorrow, but I'm free after lunch."

Buffy watched on as the gang made their plans around their jobs, their school (amazingly, Faith was actually doing a course at the local college) and their kids. It struck her again how much the lives of those she loved had changed.

"So it's settled," Dawn said, clearly satisfied. "Spike will pick my up after class, then we'll come here tomorrow around one thirty. After getting the little monsters ready-"

"My kids are not monsters," Anya grumped.

"Xander and Anya will be here at about two," Dawn continued as though nothing had been said. "Hopefully we'll be able to have a bit of a party."

"They're just spirited," Anya muttered sullenly.

"Sounds good to me, pet," Spike said warmly. He rose. "Night all. Glad you're back, Buffy," he said coolly, before heading out. His leaving heralding the break-up of the night as everyone went back to their home or dorm room.

That was something else that was strange now. Spike didn't look at her like he used to. Now he was very cool, almost curt. He even called her Buffy around everyone, and he'd never done that before. Six years probably changed even Spike.

"I'm going to hit the hay, B," Faith said, lifting Caitlin as she stood. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Buffy said absently. "I'll just sleep on the cot in the basement."

"Night, B."

"Night, Faith."

**XXX**

_Buffy stared at the door. It was old weather-beaten wood, probably oak or something fancy like that. It was solid after years of being a door in the driving wind and rain, not that you got much of that in California. She idly wondered how much force it would take to splinter it into pieces. She was a horrible person._

_There could be no doubting it. A good person would be grief-stricken, would at least be sad. Buffy felt nothing. She was empty. Her mother had died, the funeral had been earlier today, and Buffy had yet to shed a single tear. It wasn't like she was being brave, she didn't even feel an urge to cry. She was numb._

_She was all alone. It was too much. She had Dawn to worry about now, and paying the bills and looking after the house and her mom was dead and she felt nothing, not even when Angel showed up or when he left. She was a horrible, horrible person. The door swung open._

"_Slayer?" Spike asked quietly, leaning on the doorframe._

_Buffy took a step closer to him. "Do you love me, Spike?"_

"_Of course I do."_

_Buffy took another step closer, she could smell him now. "Tell me you love me."_

_His eyes are filled with a desperate hope, and when he speaks his voice is hoarse. "I love you, Buffy."_

_She crushed her lips to his and pushed him into the crypt, her hands frantically pressing over his cool, hard body, her right fingertips trailing down behind his belt to grasp his--_

Buffy awoke with a start.

The sight before her eyes was not a pretty one. Well, it was a pretty one but it was squinting in a disturbing fashion. Nothing should be able to make such a horrible face on command. Caitlin was managing to squash her forehead down, and yet her nostrils had flared to twice their normal size while her mouth looked like she'd been chewing lemons. Buffy had a sneaking suspicion that this was Caitlin's thinking face and she was worried she would see it more in future.

Buffy propped herself on her elbows and looked at the little girl. Katie had seemingly decided that kneeling in Buffy's stomach while she was sleeping was a perfectly acceptable place to have a think. The girl was absently poking her delicate little fist in and out of Buffy's ethereal body.

"Buffy," Katie began, her face smoothing, "if you're a ghost, why don't you fall through the bed?"

The Slayer blinked. Blinked again. Her eyes widened slowly before she suddenly dropped and found herself under the bed, staring at the springs in a nonplussed manner. That was very embarrassing. She didn't really feel anything, even though it was really wiggy when she went through solid objects like that, but she'd slept on the bed all night and only now it decides that a ghost can't stay on it.

Buffy jumped a little when Katie's head swung down suddenly to hang upside down and look at the ghostly Slayer, her pale hair hanging like a curtain.

"Why don't you and my Dad like each other?" she asked suddenly.

"W-what?" Buffy stuttered.

"Well," the little girl drawled, "you know all of my grown-ups and everyone got real excited when you showed up like it was the bestest thing ever, by my Dad didn't."

Buffy hesitated. "It's… complicated."

"Oh," Katie sighed disinterestedly, "you mean it's boring."

The Slayer's mouth opened to correct her. Then closed. She hadn't spent a lot of time looking after little kids recently, but she was pretty sure you didn't mention any sexcapades to the child. "Yeah, that's what I meant. Boring."

XXX

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaargh!" Caitlin screamed, brandishing the stake like a sword as she hurtled from the kitchen.

Faith carefully sipped her coffee and tried to block out the screeching child. She knew there was a reason she didn't offer to look after Katie more often. This was the last time she'd help Spike out.

"Is she always like this?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"Until she gets tired or bored, pretty much," Faith muttered. The ominous tinkle of broken glass echoed from the other room, accompanied with a sinister silence. Faith idly contemplated kicking Spike's ass more than usual next time they sparred.

"So," Buffy began, fidgeting nervously. "Who's Katie's mom?"

Faith was quiet for a moment. "Don't think I can tell you, B. Not my story to tell."

"Did Spike love her?" she asked quietly.

The Slayer thought for a while, remembering the birth of Katie and before. "Yeah. He did, B. He did."

"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" the little girl wailed as she streaked into the room, ending the conversation more effectively than a demon attack.

With a put-upon sigh, Faith's hand snaked down and snatched the stake from Katie's little fist and looked at the kid. Not angry or pleading or anything, just looking without speaking. After a second Katie started to fidget. An expression of agony passed over her face, before settling into one of dread.

"Auntie Fayt? I accidently slayed your flower pot," she said in a small voice, staring at a point between her feet.

Faith took a deep breath. The only thing in her house that could even be mistaken for a flower pot was a very expensive Urn of Osiris that had been a gift from Willow. She looked at the pitifully guilty expression on the little girl's face and heaved a sigh before picking her up and planting her on a stool.

"You want some breakfast, kiddo?"

"Coco Pops?" she asked excitedly.

"Nah, you know your dad would get mad if I gave you those for breakfast. How about some eggs?" Faith asked as she looked into the fridge.

"Okay," Caitlin sighed. Suddenly, she perked up. "Does that mean I can have Coco Pops for lunch?"

Faith's lips twitched. "We'll see."

As Faith gathered the eggs and cooking stuff, she heard Caitlin ask Buffy, "Why aren't you falling through the chair?"

The Slayer looked over her shoulder to see a very disgruntled Buffy now seated on the floor. She grinned at the blond as she got up, muttering and dusting herself off, before turning her attention to the eggs.

"How old are you Buffy?"

"I'm twenty years old."

"Wow. You're tiny to be that old. Did you eat your vegetables when you were growing up? My dad says you don't grow up to be tall if you don't eat your vegetables. Is that what happened to you? Did you eat too much candy? I like candy. I got some at Halloween last year. I wanted to dress up as a princess only Seth said he was going to be one of the Wiggles and I said I was going to be a Princess Wiggles and he said you can't be a Princess Wiggles so I got daddy to make me a costume and it had a crown and a long pink dress and a purple skivvy so I could be Jeff because Jeff is the best one because he always falls asleep and you have to yell wake up Jeff just like when my daddy is sleeping on Easter and I have to wake him up by jumping on the bed and yelling wake up daddy so I can try and catch the Easter Bunny because if I catch him then I can get all of his chocolate eggs even though Auntie Bit said-"

"Don't you have school?" Buffy asked, sounding very panicked.

Caitlin giggled. "No, silly. I'm not big enough to school yet. That happens in six more sleeps but it doesn't because I took two sleeps yesterday and it's still six sleeps and not five sleeps so someone is telling me fibs and I can count up to 'leven because Auntie Bit said that I should be able to count things and daddy said well you bloody teach her and then Auntie Bit yelled at him for saying a naughty word because it's not nice to say naughty words but sometimes daddy and Auntie Fayt say them when they forget or think I can't hear them like this one time I was playing with the TV and my daddy said-"

Faith dropped the bowl of scrambled eggs in front of Katie who ravenously attacked them with her fingers and a spoon. Faith grinned at the look of hopeless gratitude that Buffy shot her way. There was a knocking on the door. Faith wondered who it would be. Spike wouldn't be around for a few more hours and he was bringing Dawn, and Xander and Anya would still be going through the morning routine at this hour.

Opening the door revealed two familiar figures. The first ran in with a thick blanket over his head that was still smoking and the other man followed at a more sedate pace nodding his hello as he passed. Buffy froze when she saw them.

"Angel?" she asked.

"Buffy," Angel greeted solemnly.

"Oz!"

"Hey, Buffy," Oz said. "You look good."

**XXX**

David was going on an adventure. At least that's what his dad told him. He was almost big enough for school, now. He didn't want to go to another country though. America was full of loud people and David had heard his dad complain about how none of them like reading books, and David very much liked books. They let him have safe adventures.

Putting his favourite story in his bag to make sure he didn't lose it, David Matthew Giles got ready for an adventure.

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ Not my best, but I am pleased with some of it. I hope I continue to please with this story, and note that this chapter was necessarily transitional. I'm trying to keep things moving as quickly as possible, but I do have to explain some things. Of course, if you ask me really nicely in a review, I might be persuaded to tell you who Caitlin's mother is. But only if you review really nicely. And even then, only maybe. Still, REVIEW, and let me know which parts you liked._


	3. Drastic Changes

**A/N:**_ Last time I updated a fic I got one review. This is not the first time this has happened to me, nor will it stop me writing. I write as an outlet for various stresses. However, I am no longer having the same stresses as I used to so I am feeling less inclined to write. Why do I still write? Because of my readers. How do I know people are reading? They review. I will put it in simple language. If I am not shown an interest in a fic, then my updates go from taking days and weeks to taking months and years. This is being written at the end of a long, hectic day and I am not happy. Since I have the e-mails of the people I know are reading, posting on is purely for those of you who read and don't review at all. I doubt I'd notice if you stopped reading since you don't do anything now. Keep this in mind, because it sure as hell isn't easy managing to write a chapter of a quality that I think is worth posting online when I get no feedback or acknowledgement from most of you._

**Disclaimer:**_ I have to give a warning here. This chapter contains mentions of character death and some not quite nice things. It's also got some hopefully nice things, too. Oh, and apologies to _Casey_ here, but I'm not going to post the R/NC17 version of this story here - that's going to have to wait until I get a site I can actually update. So sorry to all of you who were hoping to see my version of hardcore sex, 'cos it's not going to be seen on changes _

Oz permitted himself a small smile at the dumbfounded expression on Buffy's face. It felt good to see her even if they hadn't been all that close years ago. She looked almost the same as Oz remembered, which made sense considering she'd been dead for six years. In the werewolf's experience dead people either tended to preserve perfectly or rot, and the rotting ones didn't usually get back up and walk around.

"Uncle Poof!" a high voice squealed as a blond blur ran into Angel, tiny little arms wrapping around the big man's neck as he grimaced, probably at the moniker.

"Hey, Rosie," he murmured, hugging her tight.

Oz took the time to look at Spike's kid. She was pretty. Short blonde hair, big blue eyes, cupid's bow mouth, delicate nose. The kid was probably going to end up gorgeous. Oz could see Spike in her, but he could see her mother more. Well, granted Oz had never met her personally and had only seen the pictures Angel drew of her but the vampire was a pretty good artist, and the pictures looked like the little girl so they must be at least somewhat accurate.

"Who are you?" the little imp demanded, hands on hips, glaring right at the werewolf.

"I'm Oz," he said.

The little girl tilted her nose in the air just a fraction. "I'm Caitlin Roselyn Barclay," she said in an imperious tone.

Oz stared. From the amused expressions on the faces behind her, he figured that this was a regular thing. "I'm very pleased to meet you," he said soberly.

Suddenly the child burst into a fit of giggles. "I like you," she said, "You're funny."

"So, Oz," Faith began a shade awkwardly. "Since when did you hook up with Angel?"

"Oh, about a fortnight ago I ran into him in L.A.," he answered, watching distractedly as Angel spoke to the girl. It was almost sad the way he would never have kids of his own.

Oz blinked when a dark figure with a blanket over his head sprinted in the front door, smoke drifting up from the blanket. "Poof," an English accent drawled, "when did you get here?" Spike stood, casually dusting his slightly singed closed until he noticed the werewolf. "Oz?"

"Spike," Oz nodded.

"I thought you weren't going to show up for a few days," the vampire said.

Oz shrugged with one shoulder. "Ran into Angel."

Spike blinked, then turned and hugged his daughter before looking at Angel. "Sorry to hear about the cheerleader, mate," Spike offered.

"Thanks," Angel said heavily. The pair shared a quiet moment.

"How's the Watcher taking it?"

"As well as could be expected. Fred's staying with him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Spike offered a weak grin. "How are you and Fred doing these days?" he asked, changing the subject as tactfully as possible. "Found a way around that perfect happiness clause yet?"

Angel looked at the floor and studiously headed towards Faith and Katie in the other side of the house. Spike, smelling a weakness, followed gleefully. Oz stood in the near empty hall and looked at Buffy.

"You want a drink?" she asked faintly, gesturing towards the kitchen. Oz seated himself on a stool and looked, puzzled, at Buffy who stood in the middle of the room doing nothing. "Didn't they tell you? I'm a ghost or something."

"Oh." Oz blinked. "That kind of weight loss is a bit extreme."

Buffy gave him a vaguely confused smile as he got himself a glass of water. "So, umm, isAngelgaynow?" she asked hurriedly.

Oz stared at Buffy for a second, deciphering the garbled words. "I don't think so," he said slowly.

"It's just that Spike sort of implied he was going out with a guy called Fred and then he said something about the perfect happiness clause so I was just wondering…"

"Fred is a girl," Oz said, finally understanding the nature of Buffy's worries. "Short for Winifred, I think."

Buffy seemed to exhale. "Oh." A look of comprehension flashed. "Oh."

Oz nodded in commiseration. It was never easy to know the person you loved had moved on. It still hurt a little when he thought about the time he found out about Willow and Tara, and it was even worse when he thought about- well, it was just easier not to think about.

"Do you know who died?" Buffy's question intruded on Oz's musings.

"It was Cordelia. She died about four months ago."

"Oh," Buffy muttered, clearly in shock. "How… how?"

"There was a car accident. A big one. Wesley's still torn up," Oz said quietly.

"Wesley?"

"He and Cordelia were engaged."

Buffy sat down on the stool. Oz stayed with her while she thought. Just in case she needed someone to listen.

**XXX**

Buffy was freaking out. Everything was completely different now. Maybe she was in some weird, Bizzaro version of the world. Nothing made sense. Cordy engaged to Wesley. Cordy dying. Angel running a huge detective firm in L.A. employing over fifty people and demons. Angel in love with someone not Buffy. Someone named Fred who may or may not be a girl. Oz being back. Angel, Spike and Xander all getting along. Then of course there were all the other things that don't make sense.

Two of them -- because Xander being a dad was so not computing yet -- were currently interviewing Oz. Well, interviewing in the same sense that the Inquisition could be called an interview.

"What are you?" Seth demanded of the quiet man loudly, waving a pointed finger under his nose.

"What do you mean?" Oz asked slowly.

"Everybody is something," Katie explained heavily.

"Spike is a vampire, Angel is a wanker, Faith is a Slayer, my dad is a fixer," Seth rattled off backhandedly. "So what are you?"

"I'm a werewolf," Oz said, possibly amused. It was kinda hard to tell with Oz. His sarcastic face looked exactly the same as his This-Surprise-Party-Is-Lame-I-Know-But-Willow-Thought-It-Would-Be-Fun face. Oz's face pretty much stayed the same.

"What do you do?"

Oz gave this some thought. "I play guitar."

"Where were you on the night of the fifth?" Seth asked dramatically.

"Why did you ask him that?" Katie demanded in a stage whisper.

"It's what you're s'posed to ask them, duh," Seth replied scathingly.

"Why?"

Seth was at a loss. "Because… I said so!"

"That's not an answer," scoffed Katie.

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too, is too, is too, is too!"

"IS NOT!" Katie bellowed, shoving the boy to the ground.

Seth jumped to his feet and attempted to rip a handful of pale blonde hair from the girl's head before Xander and Spike materialised to spirit away the rowdy children, smiling briefly and apologetically at Oz and Buffy. A roar of laughter accompanied the return of the fathers and children in the living room and Buffy felt her disconnection with the world like a sharp pain. She wasn't part of this world, not really. She was just a ghost, something insubstantial.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Oz informed Buffy. "I'll be back in a bit."

Buffy sat in the empty kitchen and sulked. Just because she… made some mistakes before she, well, died, she wasn't part of the group and it hurt. It hurt that she wasn't the most important person in their lives any more. Hell, she probably wasn't even in the top three any more, and she knew it was childish and petty but being a ghost was hard. It was as if she simply didn't matter to anything anymore.

What bothered her most of the time was that she had no impact on the world anymore. At all. She couldn't hit things, she just went through them. She never felt hot, or cold, or warm, or any temperature at all. It was just… not. It was like being completely numb over your whole body, only worse because it didn't go away, it wouldn't go away, it would only get worse as time went on. She could see, and she could hear, but she couldn't smell, or taste or touch. It was like she didn't even exist.

"Buffy?" Spike's voice rumbled into the quiet. The ghostly Slayer gave a little start.

"Spike," she said, when she was sure her voice would be steady. One bonus for being all ghosty is that now he couldn't hear her heart beating. She missed her heart beating.

"You don't have to hide out in the bloody kitchen, you know," he said with a smirk.

Buffy felt indignation rise up. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I a part of your little group now? Did you get bored talking about everything else and now you think I might be interesting? Does everyone want to hear my side of our sick little encounters now?"

Spike was silent for a long time. Which was of the bad, because about three seconds after she said it, Buffy started to feel really guilty about what she'd said. "I never told them anything, Slayer," Spike said in a sombre tone. "They don't know and they never have to. It's behind us. I don't love you any more, and we both know you never loved me. Just… just leave it."

The vampire turned on his heel and stalked out, leaving Buffy feel even worse. It wasn't fair. She wasn't supposed to feel bad about hurting Spike. That was what he was for, what he was good at.

_Buffy slammed him against the wall of the crypt and pressed her mouth to his, seeking, crushing, possessing. Her warm hands trailed all over his hard body, pinching, prodding. Harder and faster. Faster and harder. She just needed to feel._

_Oh, she felt all right. She felt the hot, heady pleasure he brought, followed immediately by the sickening waves of revulsion and shame. Spike wasn't human. He didn't even have a soul. He was an empty, evil thing and he was the only thing in the entire world that could make her feel anything that wasn't tired._

_Glory remained unbeatable. Dawn still needed to be looked after. Willow and Xander and Giles and rest expected her to fight, keep the Hellmouth closed. Bills needed to be payed. And Buffy didn't care. At all. About any of it. It was all empty and meaningless. The only thing that helped her cope was the cold comfort of an undead thing, and even though the thought made her sick she kept coming back, time and again, night after night._

_She gasped into his ear as his cool hand slid under her skirt, reaching and searching and_

"Buffy?" Oz asked the room.

The ghostly Slayer's eyes blinked open. That was a vivid daydream. She could almost still feel his cool, strong fingers all over her and for a brief moment she thought she felt warm. It was all gone now, of course, and she felt even worse for wanting to remember those times just so she could feel the ghost of feeling.

Oz must have noticed the expression on her face because after a moment he turned and went to the main room with everyone else. Buffy lowered her head into her hands, knowing she was disgraceful. Still, she needed to feel. Closing her eyes, she remembered.

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ Okay. That was shorter than usual. Bear with me, I am going somewhere with this fic. A lot further than I usually plan, by the look of it. Hopefully it will all be explained. I need to address a few minor issues. One, this is not a kidfic. I will try and include them in as many funny situations as possible, of course, but the primary focus of this story is Buffy. Two, Buffy is not Caitlin's mother. A lot of you have intimated that this is what you think and, while it is an intriguing idea, I could not make this the case and still keep my good conscience. I believe that the first clue to the identity of the mother was in this chapter. Don't worry, I'll be telling you all within three chapters anyway, and I hope you will agree with me that it is the best and most unique way of doing what I've done. Finally, on the matter of reviews. I am not as angry now as I was when I wrote my first A/N but I will leave it as the points are still valid. I get very little out of this exchange if none of you REVIEW._

_Also note, this chapter was longer before I removed a large portion of the material that could be seen as pornographic. Sorry people, but the rating is being dropped down a notch. Feel free to suggest a site where I could post it's entirety._


	4. Wandering

**A/N:**_ All my ideas for this fic seem to be hiding from me. I know what I want to do in future parts of it, but I'm having trouble with this part directly. Well, let's hope my much publicised ability to make stuff up comes in handy, eh? This may seem like filler, it really might, but it does have a plot-purpose. As well as being filler, obviously. Ah, I probably have more I should say but I'm lazy and in a hurry, considering this is going up the morning I leave. Gah, damn schedules._

**Disclaimer:**_ Very grateful for the reviews last chapter. It's why I'm squeezing this chapter out before I go on holidays and aren't able to even work on a new chap for a few days, maybe even a week. If any of you find Buffy slightly detached, she's supposed to be. It's part of the story. Unless I'm just getting horrible at writing Buffy, which is a possibility._

**XXXXX**

**Wandering**

Buffy stared morosely at the TV. It wasn't on, but it's not like she could change that. She was a ghost. Insubstantial. She didn't even matter any more. No-one came to visit her now. Oh, there was someone or even a few people stoping by every day, but they were always there to see Faith, or to have a Scooby meeting, or to see one another. She didn't matter anymore. The only people who were ever happy to see her were the kids, and that was because they thought it was funny when she fell through the furniture.

She could hear the muffled sounds of Faith's morning routine - a shower, a cup of coffee and a cigarette - and started to sulk more. Even Faith, a condemned criminal, had more of a life than her now. She just didn't matter any more and she couldn't do anything about it. How do you kill yourself when you're dead?

"For God's sake, Buffy," Faith's husky voice grumped behind her. "Get a life."

Buffy leapt to her feet and glared indignantly at the dark Slayer. "How can I do that, Faith? How?"

Faith heaved a sigh and pushed her wet hair out of her face. "I don't know, B, but you can't always hang out here."

"Oh," Buffy snorted derisively. "I'm just supposed to go out there and get a job, am I?"

"This is the most life I've seen in you in days, B," Faith said quietly, seriously. "You don't even talk to the gang any more. When they show up, you disappear."

"I'm always in the room, you just ignore me."

"I don't know what world you're living in, B" Faith began slowly, "but I haven't seen you with the gang since Angel showed up."

"That's another thing!" Buffy spat. "Everyone's all good friends now. Since when do Xander and Angel get along? Or Xander and Spike? Since when does anyone get along with Spike?"

"Everyone's gone through a lot after you died, B," Faith said in a low tone.

"Spike is a murderous vampire! He's killed two Slayers and countless people! Why am I the only one who remembers that?"

"It's not that simple, B," Faith replied. "At least I hope not, because if it is I'm in the same boat as him."

"Faith, I didn't mean--" the ghostly Slayer started to apologise.

"It's not who he is anymore, B. It's not who I am anymore. I think you need to stop looking at the world like it's purely black and white."

Buffy was at a loss for words. "I--"

"It's not always about you, B," Faith reminded her harshly. "Since you came back have you gone to see any of your friends? Have you even left the house?" Faith's expression softened. "Look, just think about it."

Buffy stared after the Slayer and thought. Had she left the house? She hadn't even thought about it. She'd been turning into a stereotypical ghost, like that one she'd run into in that antique shop her Senior year. It must be something about being a ghost that made you want to settle down and haunt one place for the rest of time.

Buffy set her expression. Well, not this Slayer. Her resolve set, Buffy began to plan. She'd have to stop by Xander and Anya's place, and Spike's place, and she'd have to at least stop by Dawn's apartment, and she'd have to stop off at Angel's hotel room, and Oz, she'd have to see Oz. As the plans whirled in Buffy's head she wondered briefly why she hadn't had any of them before. She felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Then Buffy realised a slight flaw in her plans. She didn't know where Xander and Anya had moved. She knew that they had - well, that they'd had to. Their old apartment was way too poky for one kid, let alone too - _and _she didn't have any way for her to travel. How would she get around considering she'd fall through cars?

Buffy closed her eyes in frustration. She really wanted to go to Xander and Anya's now, even if only to prove she could. She was the Slayer, and okay, maybe she was deceased, but she'd never let it stop her in the past. Life just had to be difficult, didn't it? Well, maybe the world had forgotten how determined Buffy Summers got in the six years when she'd been dead, but she was going to remind it!

Buffy opened her eyes with a new sense of purpose and nearly fell over. She wasn't in the living room anymore. She was standing in a strange corridor which she'd never seen before. Well, this was certainly new. Instinctively crouching into a battle stance, the ghost began to head down the hall.

Suddenly, a giggling, naked child streaked past her, quickly pursued by a soaking wet Anya, bellowing threats and curses. "I swear to D'Hoffryn that if you don't come back and have your bath, Sarah Julia Portia Jenkins-Harris, I will cut off your hands and feet and feed them to feral rabbits!"

Buffy tried. She really did, but not even her formidable willpower could stop the snort of laughter that escaped, and once the first had gotten out she let out peals of laughter.

"Buff, is that you?" Xander's voice echoed into the hallway, and Buffy head towards it and had to laugh again when she did.

Xander was using a towel to dry off his son, despite the fact that he was wetter than Seth. What caused Buffy's laughter were the giant dinosaur bath puppets on his hands, the pink nylon apron around his neck and, for some odd reason known only by the Harris family, the raccoon hat on his head.

"What are you doing here?" Seth asked Buffy innocently, getting a grin in reply.

"I just thought I'd stop by and say hello. I didn't know it was bath time." Buffy's grin widened. "Love the outfit, Xand. It matches your complexion."

"Buff, please," Xander appealed, eyes wide, "Don't let anyone know about this, please. Spike already knows too much. If word of this gets out, I won't have any masculinity left!"

"But Xand," Buffy said with faux innocence, her lips twitching. "I couldn't lie to any of my friends."

"Buff, Buffy, Buffster," Xander laughed desperately before breaking down completely. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get my two monsters to have a bath?"

Buffy started to laugh again.

**XXX**

Buffy closed her eyes and opened them again. She was still in front of the Harris household, and it was starting to annoy her. She'd just spent a really good hour catching up with Xander and Anya, and had been looking forward to doing the same with her sister only whatever power or force or demon or whatever that sent her to the Harris household wasn't working now.

"Listen up, whatever you are," Buffy growled suddenly. "I'm going to close my eyes, and when I open them I'm going to be at Dawn's apartment or else I'm going to find a way to kick your ass."

Buffy closed her eyes and counted to three. When she opened them, she smiled in a self-satisfied way. She was standing out the front of Xander and Anya's old apartment. She could hear indistinct voices from inside, so she grit her teeth and stepped through the door. She hated doing that, though. It just seemed wrong to walk through solid objects like that.

"I haven't seen you in a while," a very male voice said in a playful tone, and Buffy froze.

"I guess I'll just have to make it up to you, then," Dawn's voice seductively replied. Buffy heard some giggling and the soft thump of a pair of bodies hitting a bed and she clenched her eyes shut.

When she opened them, she was in a new place that she'd never seen before. She let out a huge sigh. She was not mentally equipped for Dawn to have a boyfriend, let alone hear them being all couple-y. She didn't even know Dawn had a boyfriend, but it might have come up when she wasn't paying attention. Buffy was ashamed to admit, even to herself, that that was a considerable portion of the time.

"Would you like some more tea, Mr Squid-thing?" Caitlin's voice said, answering the question of where Buffy was before she realised she even wanted to ask it. She was at Spike's house.

She stepped through the nearest door and couldn't believe her eyes. Caitlin had set up a little tea party with all her plush toys. She was seated at a little table with an adorable little tea-set. A plush octopus was on her right and a plush dog on her left. It was what was sitting opposite that had Buffy frozen in shock. _Spike _was sitting at the dainty little table, a tiny porcelain cup pinched delicately between two fingers. His face held an expression of inexpressible dread.

"Slayer, it's not what it looks like!"

"Buffy," Katie beamed. "Would you like to join our tea party?"

**XXX**

Buffy opened her eyes. She was standing in front of a door in the Sunnydale motel.

"Alright, you just postponed an ass kicking, mister," Buffy grumbled under her breath. She didn't really feel all that angry at whatever was sending her around town, but threatening it seemed to work. A Slayer's gotta do what a Slayer's gotta do. She just hoped this was where Angel was staying. He'd kill for the information Buffy had.

She'd accepted Katie's invitation to join their tea party and has spent a very fun twenty minutes smiling widely at Spike as he had more tea at his daughter's command. She couldn't wait to tell Xander about this, it made his bath-time outfit pale in comparison, but Angel had to know first. Hopefully it wouldn't give him perfect happiness.

"Buffy," Angel said in surprise. Well, surprise for Angel, which meant he really didn't move or change much.

"Angel, you are never going to guess what I just saw," Buffy started, a silly grin spreading over her face. "I just walked in on Spike having a tea party!"

At first Angel didn't react. Then his lips started twitching, before he started to chuckle. Buffy was shocked to her very core. She had no idea that Angel even knew how to chuckle. Hell, she thought he only barely knew how to smile. It must be Fred's doing, she decided. Buffy decided that she liked Fred if being with her allowed Angel to be this happy.

"That bit of information is going to last me a very long time," Angel said finally.

"So," Buffy said into the silence. "How's things?"

Angel allowed a small smile. "It's okay, Buffy. You can ask me about Fred."

"Am I that transparent?" she asked him ruefully.

"I saved her from a hell dimension about the same time you died," Angel began. "She was… special. There was just something about her."

Buffy listened to Angel talk about his girlfriend, how she'd been crazy after coming back to Earth, how she'd nearly left with her family before deciding to stay and saving their lives, how she and Angel had started an awkward relationship. It did hurt her, but not as much as she thought it would. It was more a bittersweet pang when she realised how much Angel loved Fred, that he'd moved on.

"I guess it's not easy for Spike," Buffy said finally. "I mean, you having Fred and him having no-one."

Angel nodded. "Yeah, but has Rosie. It's the only reason he didn't stake himself when she died."

"Caitlin died?" Buffy asked, confused.

Angel shook his head slowly. "No, her mom did. Didn't they tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Angel closed his eyes. "This is just like him," he said in a resigned tone. "He tries to pretend it didn't happen by not talking about it."

"Talking about what?" Buffy asked impatiently.

"Who Rosie's mom is," Angel replied evenly.

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ Dun dun dunnnnn! That's right people, the next chapter will explain all. Okay, not all, but some. It'll explain what you all want to know, at least. Who Katie's mum is. This chapter is a little bit shorter than usual, just for that nice little cliffhanger. If you are very good and REVIEW, then maybe when I get back from my holidays I'll post the next chapter AND an additional interlude of a holiday with the kids._


	5. Rebound

**A/N:**_ It is the early AM. I have just arrived home after a lovely holiday and I was given a beautiful gift in the form of sixteen lovely reviews. In these reviews, many of you begged, asked and threatened me so nicely that I'm going to try and get this chapter up as soon as possible. Of course, this means I'm going in half asleep and if the chapter is bad, I blame sleep deprivation._

**Disclaimer:**_ I am going to try very hard to keep the identity of Caitlin's mum a secret for as long as possible. Of course, due to the nature of my storytelling, this may not be possible. In point of fact, a lot of you will probably guess it long before I say who it is. I won't say her name until the very end, which is cruel to some of you, but I suspect that many of you will realise who she is in the first segment. Then of course there are those of you who already know who she is. Regardless, review me about it._

**XXXXX**

**Rebound**

"Why did we have to come to Faith's before you would tell me who Katie's mom is?" Buffy asked Angel, who mumbled something unintelligible. "What?"

"I paid a safety deposit for my motel room."

Buffy looked at Angel.

"What? You might break something,"

"Just tell me the story, wise guy."

**XXFLASHBACKXX**

_She lay on the bed in the dingy motel room, hopeless. Not even he could help her anymore. He sat in a chair by the door, standing vigil. He'd always had her back, even when she didn't deserve it. Especially when she didn't deserve it._

"_Maybe it would be different," he said suddenly, startling her. "We don't know. Maybe, uh... because, you know, I have a soul - if-if I did bite you--"_

"No," she told him simply.

"We don't know what it would do to you," he replied hopelessly, obviously suffering.

"Angel, I've seen it now. Everything you're going through, everything you've gone through. I felt it. I felt how you care. The way no one's ever cared before - not for me. That's all I need from you," she smiled weakly.

"That's not enough," he murmured into the heavy air.

"It is," she assured him.

"_I can't protect you," he agonised._

"_I don't need you to protect me," she said. "I'm dying, and you can't protect me from death." He opened his mouth to speak. "Not that way."_

"_You're not safe here," he argued. "They'll find you, and I can't protect you here."_

"_What happens, happens."_

_He paused. "I think I know a safe place. There are people there who could protect you."_

"_You're abandoning me?"_

"_I need to know you're safe," he told her. "They'll never think to look for you there and that's the important thing."_

_She sighed, resigned. "Fine."_

_**XXX**_

"_What are you doing here?" Spike asked sullenly._

_Angel hesitated. "I need you to look after someone."_

_Spike snorted. "Hellmouth's not exactly the safest place to send someone who needs protecting, poof. Just last week vanquished some demon that makes everyone sing and dance their feelings out."_

"_It's safer than where she's from," Angel said heavily._

"_From LA then? Or is this bird from New York?" he queried mockingly. "Sorry, mate. Can't help."_

"_You have to, Spike," Angel said hollowly. "I have nowhere else to turn."_

_Spike said nothing and stared into his mug. He'd promised the 'bit that he wouldn't get drunk again. He was seriously regretting that promise, but he'd keep it. The poor kid had enough trouble without dealing with a drunk vampire who couldn't keep a bloody promise not to get pissed. He didn't react when Angel came back, he knew the wanker wouldn't give up that easily, but an almost familiar smell caused him to snap his head up._

"_Oh, no," she said, shaking her head wildly. "I'm _not _staying with him!"_

"_Wolfram & Hart aren't expecting it," Angel said desperately. "First, a Hellmouth is the last place I'd send someone I want to keep safe. Second, Spike is the last person I'd ask for help. Third, Sunnydale is the last place on Earth I'd come after Buffy…"_

"_As much as it pains me, Peaches, I have to agree with the girl," Spike muttered. "She is not staying here."_

"_Spike," Angel said in a harsh whisper. "I need to protect her, to keep her safe. I can't do it alone. I need your help."_

_Spike didn't say anything for a minute. "I'll run it past the bloody Scoobies."_

_**XXX**_

"_No. No way. Absolutely not!" Xander exclaimed emphatically._

"_I'd have to say I agree with Xander," Giles said, polishing his glasses._

"'_m not exactly asking for your blessings, here," Spike pointed out. "Just thought I'd do you the curtesy of letting you know is all."_

"_She's a killer," Xander pointed out. _

_Willow nodded a little. "It does seem pretty mucho with the badness."_

"_It may have slipped your minds," Faith said suddenly, "but Spike's a killer, too."_

"_But he's chipped and he can't hurt people," Xander said airily._

_Faith leaned forward. "I'm not and I can. I'm a killer too, Xand."_

"_But… that's different! Giles, help me out here," the construction worker plead._

"_I'm afraid Faith has a point," he said, furiously polishing away. "It would be rather hypocritical of us to turn her down."_

"_But she's not--"_

"_She is," Spike cut in suddenly. "Didn't think that bit of info should have swayed your decisions though. She's all harmless now."_

_**XXX**_

_She swallowed another shot, ignoring the burning in her throat and slammed the glass on the table._

"_He left me for a cheerleader," she mumbled drunkenly._

"_At least he loved you," Spike slurred. "Mine never even gave me the time of day until she bloody well wanted her itch scratched."_

"_A cheerleader!"_

" '_m just a soulless thing," he groaned._

" '_s not true," she asserted, then blinked. "okay, so maybe it is, but you're special."_

" '_m just a thing," he muttered._

"_No, no, no, no," she told him sternly. "No. You're special. You care. Like Angel."_

" '_m bloody well not like Angel!" Spike yelled before falling out of his chair and landing on the floor. _

_Giggling madly, his drinking companion slid from her chair to lie on top of him. Her breath came in short, warm bursts and she realised there was more than one way to drown one's sorrows. Acting before she could think about it further, she pressed her lips to his._

_**XXX**_

_She woke with a screaming headache. Looking around blearily, she spied her underthings and a T-shirt and slid into them. After gathering her courage, she dragged herself up the ladder to get herself some food. As she expected, Spike was fully dressed and already upstairs. Unlike she expected, he almost looked sorry._

"_It'll never happen again," he said seriously._

_She blinked. "Why not?"_

_It was Spike's turn to be surprised. "What do you mean?"_

"_Was it not good?" she asked. "I mean, we were pretty drunk but I thought we did okay."_

"_Love, that wasn't the problem," Spike tried._

"_Look, as much as we both want otherwise, we're both single," she said. "This doesn't hurt anybody and it kinda helps."_

"_I'm not Angel," he reminded her seriously._

"_I'm not Buffy," she replied. "If you don't want this to happen again, that's fine, but don't use them as a shield. This happened between us, it doesn't affect anyone else and the decision is ours."_

_Spike thought. "So you want to do it again?"_

"_Yeah," she said shyly, hating herself for the unusual shyness._

"_Good," Spike exhaled. "You obviously have no idea what you look like."_

_With that, he wrapped his arms around her and carried her back to the downstairs bed._

_**XXX**_

_She always felt odd at these Scooby gatherings, especially since everyone found out Spike and her had been sleeping together. You'd think that sex were a life and death matter with the way these people reacted. It was particularly bad today because she was sick or something. She'd thrown up all morning._

"_Congratulations," Tara said to her._

_She blinked. "For what?"_

"_Oh, I'm sorry," Tara murmured. "I thought you would have known by now."_

"_Known what?"_

"_You're pregnant."_

_She felt an almost hysterical urge to laugh. "What?"_

"_You're pregnant," Tara reiterated. "I can see it in your aura."_

_**XXX**_

"_You're what?" Spike asked incredulously._

"_I'm pregnant," she said for the third time._

"_How?" he sputtered._

_She arched an eyebrow. "If I have to explain that to you then maybe we're not doing it right."_

"_I understand the bloody mechanics," he snapped. "Vampires can't have any sodding children though!"_

"_Then explain that to my doctor," she said sarcastically. "She seems to think these ultrasounds say different."_

_Spike looked down at the black and grey images in confusion._

"_Tara says it's human," she continued. "She did a whole bunch of spells and took me to the hospital for a check-up."_

"_What…"_

"_It's a girl," she said._

"_A girl," Spike breathed. _

_**XXX**_

"_What do you mean, get a new place?" Spike asked indignantly. "What's wrong with this one?"_

"_Spike, we're not bringing out daughter home to a damned crypt!"_

"_Why not?" he asked stubbornly._

"_It's cold, it's damp, it's draughty, there's no sunlight, do you want me to go on?" she asked him. "It's nowhere near any schools, it's far from the hospital, it's in the middle of a damned cemetery for Christ's sake."_

_Spike dropped his head in resignation._

"_Now, Xander has a friend who knows someone…"_

_**XXX**_

"_I'm getting fat," she complained, staring at her protruding belly._

"_No you're not, love," Spike said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his hands on the bulge lovingly. "You're beautiful."_

_She punched him in the arm playfully. "This is your fault," she joked. "You did this to me."_

"_And proud of it," he boasted._

_**XXX**_

"_I'm sorry sir, you can't go in there," the nurse told Spike, barring his way._

"_My baby is being born in there, and I'm not going to bloody miss it!"_

_**XXX**_

"_Sir, we're having complications," the nurse hesitantly explained._

"_What complications? Is the baby okay?" he worried._

"_The baby seems to be exceptionally healthy," the nurse assured him. "We're worried about your wife."_

"_What about her?" Spike asked, anxiety hitting him like a freight train._

"_She seems to have a terminal syphilitic heart condition," the nurse began. "We're amazed no-one noticed before. To be honest, you're lucky that the baby is fine."_

_Spike swallowed past the lump in his throat. "How long has she got?"_

_The nurse shook her head. "Not long. Not long at all."_

_**XXX**_

_She knew she was dying. She'd been living on borrowed time. She'd hoped to have more time with her baby before she died, but Spike would be there for her. He'd look after her and the Scoobies would make sure he didn't screw it up. Anya was expecting any week now, so she wouldn't grow up alone._

_She hugged her daughter tightly, marvelling at her tiny little fists. They were so delicate, so precious. She hoped that wherever the afterlife was held that she'd be able to watch her daughter grow up. Spike gripped her hand tightly._

"_I want to call her Roselyn, after my mother," she coughed._

"_Anything you want, love," Spike said in a tear-choked voice._

"_I wanted to call her Caitlin," she wheezed. "It means pure beauty."_

_Spike squeezed her hand a little tighter as she closed her eyes. She was so very tired now._

**XENDFLASHBACKX**

"Katie's mom is…" Buffy repeated, still shocked.

"Darla," Angel finished.

"The same Darla who I killed?"

"Yeah, but there's a story behind that," Angel said nervously.

"Oh."

"You see, these evil lawyers were out to get me and," Angel stopped as the sound of knocking echoed through the house.

"I think someone's at the door," Buffy said dully.

"Don't worry, guys," Faith said. "I'll get it."

Buffy sat down. This was just confusing. She barely registered the sounds of Faith greeting someone until the Slayer brought them into the lounge room. Buffy looked up to see a familiar woman holding a young boy.

"Willow?"

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ There were go. It was short, but give me a break here. It's past 3 AM and I've answered the question you were all asking. I hope it makes sense, but if it doesn't it's probably the result of me being sleep deprived in order to give you all what you want. Shame on you. I joke, I jest, I joculate, I make up words, I kid. I kid because I care. So REVIEW!_


	6. Interlude Holidays

**A/N:**_ I promised an interlude about a holiday with the kids if I got enough reviews for chapter 4. I received enough to fulfil the readers part of the bargain, this is my part. However, after the number of reviews I received from the last chapter I am unsure of your reactions to Caitlin's mother. In fact, the response was so lacklustre it is only my promise that has me writing these light-hearted scenes so quickly._

**Disclaimer:**_ .With only a few days before the one-year anniversary of my beginning as a fan fiction writer, all I can say is that enough reviews will easily sway me to update very quickly. I want to post something very special on the anniversary, but if you lot aren't all that interested I won't bother. All I can say is that the next chapter of Progeny should be a very special one, answering lots of questions - even if you haven't asked a lot of them. I'm only posting this today because it is the one-year anniversary of me joining Fan Fiction dot net, (my time, probably not yours) and I'd like to think I've come a long way in a year. Lots of reviews would convince me of this, of course. A happy writer writes quickly._

**XXXXX**

**Interlude**

**XXXXX**

**Easter**

Caitlin Roselyn Barclay was thinking. She was thinking very hard. It was almost Easter, which was what she was thinking about. Well, to be more specific the chocolate that comes at Easter was what she was thinking about. To be more specific still, she was thinking about ways to get more chocolate.

"My mom says that the Easter Bunny comes into your house and puts chocolate eggs in secret spots for you to find," Seth informed Katie. As clever as the boy was, both he and his younger sister recognised that Katie was clearly the superior schemer. Not that Seth would admit that a girl was better than him at anything, of course.

"Why doeth a wabbit have chocowate eggth?" Sarah lisped.

Katie frowned and stomped over to her Auntie Bit, who was doing boring things like looking at books with no pictures again. "Auntie Bit," she whined, pulling at her shirt. It was a carefully calculated whine, one designed to get an answer with maximum speed. "Do bunnies eat chocolate?"

"No," Dawn muttered distractedly and continued to study frantically. Never again would she blow off study time in order to go to a party. At this rate her Easter psych assignment would ever be finished in time.

Katie trudged back to her place on the couch. She thought some more. "Maybe…" she began thoughtfully. "Maybe that's why he gives the chocolate away."

"So what do we do?" Seth asked.

"We need more chocolate," Katie pronounced.

"My mom said that all rabbits should be killed," Seth added brightly.

"She finkth they should be cwubbed to deaf wif a big thtick," Sarah explained carefully, quoting her mother.

Katie thought about this very carefully. She thought about it from all angles, looking for a flaw in the idea that was forming. If they clubbed the Easter Bunny to death with a big stick, then they would get lots of chocolate. It was a flawless plan. Now, all they needed was a big stick.

Skipping over to her Auntie Bit, Katie tugged her shirt again. "Auntie Bit," she whined. "Can we have a big stick?"

"Uh huh, sure," Dawn mumbled, scribbling frantically. "Wait, what?"

"A big stick," Katie reiterated, holding her arms out at full length to demonstrate.

"Why do you want a big stick?" Dawn asked suspiciously.

"So we can slay the Easter Bunny and take his chocolate eggs," she replied innocently.

Dawn's mouth opened. Then it closed. "You can't kill the Easter Bunny," Dawn explained weakly.

"Why not?" Seth asked loudly.

"Because killing is wrong," Dawn said automatically. She was just the babysitter for an hour. She wasn't prepared for this line of questioning.

"But Daddy and Auntie Fayt slayed the bogeyman who was trying to live in your house," Katie said helpfully.

Dawn cursed internally. Trust a five year old to remember something like that. "It's okay to kill demons," she tried.

Katie's bottom lip started to wobble. "You want to kill my Daddy?"

"Bad demons!" Dawn corrected desperately.

"Mommy thayth bunnieth are demonth," Sarah inserted, "and we should cwub dem to deaf wif a big thtick."

Dawn's mind raced. "Uh, if you kill the Easter Bunny he won't be able to come back again next year with more Easter eggs."

The children dwelt on this. While morality was above them, calculated self interest certainly was not. "We better not kill him, then," Katie said reluctantly.

"Yeah," Seth agreed, although the decision obviously pained him. "Maybe we should just hit him really hard in the head until he goes to sleep like my Dad that time when he got hit in the head really hard and went to sleep." Sarah nodded solemnly.

"Maybe you should just wake up really early and catch him," Dawn said weakly. "Without hitting him on the head."

"No hitting?" Seth asked sceptically.

"No hitting," Dawn said firmly.

**XXXXX**

**Halloween**

Seth was looking very handsome. He knew this because his Mom told him so, and Mom's can't tell lies. It's like the rules or something. Seth liked rules. They told you not to do really fun things, so if you knew the rules then you knew all the funnest things you could do.

He was dressed up like Greg from the Wiggles, because Greg was the best one because he did magic tricks and that was lots better than sleeping all the time. Anybody could sleep all the time, but doing magic was heaps better. He was wearing a yellow skivvy and an eye patch, because Greg should have an eye patch like a pirate because that's just cooler, and fake vampire teeth, because Greg should be a vampire. Not vampire teeth like Spike, though, because Spike couldn't do anything too cool like turn into a bat or fly. He was a vampire like Dracula, because Dracula could do magic and so could Greg.

Seth was Greg, the vampire pirate Wiggle. He looked way, way more handsomer than Katie did. Who ever heard of a Princess Wiggle Jeff?

"Hey kiddos," Faith said. Faith looked cool too. She was wearing a jacket just like Spike's. Seth wished he had a jacket like that. "What are you all supposed to be?"

"I'm a princess Wiggle Jeff," Katie boasted loudly, "because Jeff is the best Wiggles because you have to say Wake Up Jeff like I did to my Daddy on Easter only Jeff doesn't swear as much as Daddy does when you wake him up."

Faith grinned. "And what are you, Seth?"

"I'm a vampire pirate Wiggle Greg, but not a vampire like Spike, a vampire like Dracula because Spike can't do magic and Dracula can and so can Greg," Seth explained rationally.

"I'm a thkewington," Sarah said, jumping up and down on the spot excitedly.

"A skeleton?" Faith asked.

Sarah nodded hugely. "oooOOOooo," she moaned.

"Skeletons don't go 'oooOOOooo'," Seth said derisively.

"They do too," Sarah snapped. "Becauthe I'm a ghotht thkewington!"

"Why don't we head to the first house?" Faith asked, forestalling a sibling wrestling match.

"Yay!"

"Arg!"

"oooOOOooo."

Seth limped ahead of Faith, because limping is way, way cooler than walking, and knocked on the door as hard as he could. An old lady opened the door.

"Hello there," she said cheerfully, before a look of confusion crossed her face. "Don't all of you look… nice?"

"oooOOOooo," Sarah groaned, and the old lady, feeling on much safer ground now, gave her some candy.

"I'm a princess," Katie said brightly, and the old lady gave her candy, muttering under her breath about poor parents, unable to afford a proper costume.

"I'm a vampire," Seth growled before affecting and accent, "I vont your bloody candy!"

"oooOOOooo," wailed Sarah.

**XXXXX**

**Christmas**

Caitlin Roselyn Barclay had had the best Christmas Day in the whole wide world ever. She started the day by being extra nice to Daddy by playing with the TV instead of waking him up, and it was so totally not her fault that the shelf had changed or something and the TV broke. Besides, even though Daddy swore a lot Katie had really given him a present. He was always saying how he wanted a new TV and now he could get one.

Then had been the presents. Katie must have been a very good girl this year because she got a Barbie doll and lots of outfits and a Madagascar DVD and some new shoes and some new dresses and a new jacket that wasn't like Daddy's jacket but was still really nice but she didn't get a pony which she thought wasn't fair because even though Auntie Bit said there was no room in the house for a pony she knew there was lots of room in her closet.

There had even been some presents from some of Daddy's friends, like a hoola hoop from Jim and some lipstick from Amber and the bestest toy ever from Clem. Daddy told her his name was Some-bloody Squid-thing and he was extra cuddly and had lots and lots of arms and a little hat even. Katie would have to remember to have an extra big hug for Clem.

Then they'd had a big dinner at Auntie Fayt's house and Katie ate three whole pieces of pizza, but without the crust because it was the yuckiest thing ever and didn't even count. Daddy had asked Auntie Fayt why they weren't having chicken or turkey or lamb or pork even and Auntie Fayt told Daddy to shut up, which wasn't very nice but Katie thought it was okay because Daddy only laughed so no-one's feelings got hurt.

Then Katie had played chasie with Seth and Sarah and Seth one, but it wasn't fair because Katie couldn't go in the mud because it would make her new shoes dirty and dirty shoes weren't very pretty and Katie wanted to look extra pretty for the photo that they took at the end of every Christmas.

Now Katie was bored, though. Her Daddy had taken her to a cemtemary and he had put a pretty white flower down on the ground in front of three different funny shaped rocks, only she didn't think they would grow very good because he didn't even stick the ends in the ground and they weren't potatoes because potatoes growed everywhere all the time.

"Daddy," Katie whined. "What are we doing here?"

"Just paying my respects, Kitten," Daddy said in a funny voice.

"Why did you put the flowers on the ground?" Katie asked curiously.

Spike picked her up and pointed to one of the funny stones that was a little bit away from the other two. "That's where we buried your mum when she died, Platelet."

"Oh," Katie said. "What are those two?"

"Well," he said, "that one there is where your Auntie Bit's mum is buried."

"Who's that one?" Katie asked, pointing to the one next to Auntie Bit's mom's one.

Spike hesitated. "That was someone very special to me once."

Katie thought about that for a minute, but before she could ask any more questions her Daddy turned around and they went home.

**XXXXX**

**A/N:** _There we go. I managed to make a filler that wasn't completely filler. Yay me. This is my Anniversary Of One Year At Fan Fiction Dot Net posting. If you're all kind enough to review with your thoughts on this fic, or on any of my other fics, I might even be motivated enough to post again in three days to celebrate the year since I first posted at Fan Fiction dot Net. So REVIEW!_


	7. Revelations

**A/N:**_ This is a very special chapter. It heralds not only my first anniversary as a fanfic writer, but it is the ending of the first half of this story. After this chapter, there should be a significant shift in the pacing and design of the chapters, but hopefully it won't be at the loss of the elements of this story you have been enjoying so far. I hope to improve this story to it's full potential._

**Disclaimer:**_ I think this is my third favourite story (behind my stories set in the Star 'verse) and I think it is easily the best of my stories written in a conventional style. If any of you would like to nominate this story, or any others if you find them worthy, at an awards site then I would be greatly honoured. Normally I wouldn't ask but you only have your one-year anniversary of writing once, so I thought I'd give myself a plug, eh? Bit longer than usual, but I've been in a weird place (emotionally/mentally) lately, so I'm not entirely sure I covered everything here. ._

**XXXXX**

**Revelations**

"Hey, Buffy," Willow said brightly, giving the stunned ghost a wave with her free hand. "How have you been? I mean, besides the whole ghost thing, which I kinda guess is all you've been. Sorry, I'm still not quite used to the idea even though I had the whole plane trip over to process."

Buffy stared at the boy. "Willow?"

"Oh, duh," Willow said laughingly. "How could I forget? This is my son, David."

The little boy buried his head into Willow's neck as another massive shock walked through the front door.

"Giles?"

Buffy's ex-Watcher walked in and casually placed a loving arm around her once-best friend. "Ah, hello, Buffy," he said and smiled warmly. "It is unbelievably wonderful to see you again."

Buffy looked at the picture before her. Giles. And Willow. And a little boy. With Giles and Willow. This was just too much. Giles and Willow? If Buffy had a heart, she would probably be having a heart attack right now. As it was, she was about to faint. If ghosts could faint.

"I'm sorry," Buffy apologised weakly. "This is all so much to take in right now."

"Hey, no problemo," Willow said cheerfully. "We have to get settled in, anyway."

"Oh, right," Faith said, "You guys are upstairs. You know the way. I'll help Giles with your bags."

Buffy sat heavily and started to think. Only she didn't. She tried to think. Thoughts weren't forthcoming. Katie's mom was a dead vampire. Well, dead-er vampire, 'cause of all vampires being dead. Sorta. Undead. Could you be a dead undead? That didn't make much sense. So what happened to a vampire when you killed it? Well, they turned to dust, but did their demon die? How could it? It's dead.

And how come nobody told her that Willow had shacked up with Giles? And had kids! Or kid, singular. Still, that's huge news. That's like, apocalypse news. Giles getting a date used to be Important-Let's-Tell-Buffy news, but Giles getting married -- to Willow! -- isn't something you talk about?

And since when do vampires become human after they die? That was never in the Slayer's hand book. Not that Buffy ever read the Slayer's handbook. But Giles would have mentioned it, right? It's newsworthy, a way to bring back vampires as humans after you kill them.

And since when could vampires have kids with humans? Isn't that why Angel left Buffy? Because he couldn't give her kids? What's changed? Something must have, since he was going out with Fred. Which was totally unfair, really. Angel is all high and mighty when it comes to Buffy smooches, but Fred smooches are fine? Buffy decided that totally didn't come out right.

And Spike! Why didn't he tell her who Katie's mom was? Wasn't she important enough to let in? It was so like him. He says he wants to be friends, and then he goes around totally ignoring Buffy and not telling her anything. Angel had to tell her, and Angel never told anybody anything. If not telling people things was an Olympic event, then Angel would win the gold.

Well, maybe not. Nobody told her about Giles and Willow, not even Giles and Willow! Willow used to be her best friend and she doesn't think to let Buffy know she got married? She can't even pick up a phone? And she expected better from Giles. He was supposed to be all responsible Watcher-y guy.

Maybe Spike would challenge Angel for the Not-talking-about-anything event in the Olympics, come to think of it. He didn't even tell her that he'd moved. He still hadn't, and she'd visited him! What's up with that? The crypt would be a bad place to raise kids, which makes sense, but what's with him not telling her about it? Thinking about what they did before she died…

_Buffy hated herself._

_Her sister was being chased by a hellgod that wanted to use her to rip all the dimensions apart and glue them back together or something. She had no job, and no income. She had a pile of bills getting bigger all the time. She'd recently lost her mother, and her sister was still grieving as well. She couldn't effectively fight back against Glory, couldn't even hurt her. And she felt nothing about any of it. She was empty inside._

_The only time she felt anything at all was during one of her sick, repulsive… things with Spike, and the worst part was that she couldn't stop. It was like eating a chocolate, and then another, and soon you can't stop until they're all gone, only not as harmless as that because Spike was an evil, disgusting thing. God, it made her sick._

"_Slayer?" Spike asked as she walked into his crypt. "Buffy?"_

"_Do you love me, Spike?" _

"_Buffy, love," Spike started. "I don't know if-"_

"_Do you love me?"_

_Spike exhaled. "O' course, Slayer. You know I do."_

"_Say it."_

"_I love you, Buffy."_

_Buffy hungrily pressed her mouth to his, her hands sliding the jacket off his shoulders. She knew she'd hate herself for this afterwards, but she couldn't stop, didn't want to stop. The only time she felt anything was when she was doing this._

_Heat flooded her body as his cool hands caressed her back, knowingly ran a pattern across her body. She clutched him to her harder and shuddered in excitement, before dragging him to the lower level of his crypt._

_Afterwards, the crushing waves of revulsion and shame crashed inwards, nearly leaving her breathless. As she started to get dressed, Spike looked at her._

"_You feel something for me, you know," he said quietly._

"_Revulsion and shame," Buffy snapped back._

"_It's more than that, love," Spike said, propping himself on one elbow._

"_I could never feel anything for you," Buffy ground out. "You're nothing but a filthy, undead thing."_

_Spike sneered. "Oh, so I'm just a bit of cold comfort, then?"_

_Buffy didn't think. She just reacted. She kicked Spike as hard as she could in the ribs, heard the snap of bones, and ran._

"Do you guys know for certain?" Dawn's voice cut into Buffy's musings, prompting her to snap back to reality.

Well, she tried. Someone was sitting on her, or in her, or she was in them, or something.

"Argh!" Xander yelped, leaping from his seat and restoring Buffy's sight. It looked like everyone was here; Willow, Giles, Faith, Xander, Anya, Angel, Spike, Dawn and Oz. "J-jeez, Buff, don't sneak up on a guy like that."

"I didn't sneak," Buffy said slowly, worrying about Xander's mental health. "I've been sitting her since Willow and Giles arrived." Buffy looked around the room at the worried glances everyone was sharing. "What?"

Giles leaned in and whispered something in Willow's ear, and she raised her hands and pointed them at Buffy. "**Constrictum**."

Buffy didn't notice anything at first, until she tried to move. It felt like the air around her entire body was made of steel. "What's going on?" Buffy asked confusedly.

"That won't hold her long," Willow said to everyone. "Faith, is it okay if I draw a pentagram on your floor?"

"Yeah, sure, Red," Faith agreed easily.

"What the hell is going on?" Buffy demanded as she watched Willow sketch a simple pattern on the floor with chalk.

"I'm really sorry about this, Buff," Willow said apologetically. "**Transitus**."

Buffy felt a peculiar wrenching sensation, then she was sitting on the floor in the middle of the circle. When she tried to leave the circle, it felt like she'd been hit with a thousand volts of electricity. "Ow!"

"I wouldn't try to leave, if I were you," Giles said.

"What the HELL is going on?" Buffy yelled.

Everyone looked at everyone else uncomfortably. "Well, it's like this," Xander began. "It's almost the day of the Hokey-Pokey-"

"Hokeruthem," Willow corrected absently.

"- and there was word of a big bad coming into town. Then you showed up, and word stopped. No big bad."

"You think I'm the big bad?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"No, no, no, no," Xander said.

"Yes," Anya countered. "I don't know why you're all so nervous about this," she said to everyone. "Either that is Buffy, and there's nothing to worry about, or it's not Buffy and now there's nothing to worry about."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Dawn's boyfriend, does it?" Buffy asked. "Because if it does, I'm okay with her having a boyfriend. I mean, I'm not ecstatic or anything and I'd still like to meet him, but she's grown up now and--"

"I never told her about Sean," Dawn said, an edge of hysteria in her voice.

Angel grimaced. "Go call him, make sure he's okay."

The ghostly Slayer watched as everyone filed out of the room except Giles.

"It really is good to see you, Buffy," Giles told her quietly.

Buffy frowned. "You don't even think I'm me."

"On the contrary," Giles disagreed. "I do believe you are Buffy. I doubt many demons would be able to maintain such a tenuous façade for so long. After all, who would expect your ghost to appear after six years?"

Buffy shot him a wry look. "You want to ask me questions about me being all ghost-y, don't you?"

Giles smiled faintly. "I must admit that I do have some questions."

"Go ahead," she said grudgingly.

"Well," he said as he sat down. "Have you experienced any discomfort?"

"No, not really," Buffy said, thinking. "I feel mostly numb, really."

"Mostly?" Giles asked with his Interested Face on.

"Well, sometimes I feel as though I've got goose bumps or something, but it's not a huge thing."

"Fascinating," Giles said to himself. "And do you remember anything in the period between your, ah, death and your… current situation?"

"Nope," Buffy replied.

"And have you had any abnormal phenomena occur?"

Buffy grimaced. "Giles, I'm a ghost."

"Ah, yes. Quite."

Buffy took mercy on the Watcher. "There have been a couple of little things."

"Oh?"

"Well, sometimes I'll be sitting on a chair or lying on my bed and I'll just fall through it," Buffy said. "It doesn't hurt or anything, but it's kind of embarrassing."

"Ah. Anything else?"

"Well," Buffy said, thinking about how to phrase it without sounding crazy. "Earlier today I wanted to leave the house to go and see Xander and Anya, and I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was at their house. Then I wanted to go to Dawn's, only it wasn't working until I made a general sort of threat, and then it worked on it's own when I went to Spike's house, but I had to threaten it again to get to Angel's."

"Ah," Giles said, but he visibly relaxed. "Well, that's very reassuring."

"Wait, what's reassuring?" Buffy asked suspiciously.

"Those can often be symptomatic of ghost-hood," Giles said. "Willow shall be doing another spell later to be absolutely certain that you are not a demon in disguise."

The Watcher turned to leave. "Wait," Buffy called out. Giles face her once again. "Do you love Willow? Like, love her, love her?"

Giles smiled. "Very much so."

**XXX**

It was something of a Mexican stand-off. The air was thick with tension. The sets of eyes, one blue and two brown, stared at the fourth pair. The second pair of blue eyes darted between the other three. The silence was heavy, and all the participants could feel it weighing down on them. Finally, one of them could stand it no longer.

"I'm Caitlin Roselyn Barclay," she piped.

"I'm Seth," the dark haired boy grunted, before nodding to his sister. "This is Sarah."

Sarah waved.

"I'm David," the red-haired boy said, giving a nervous wave.

"Why do you talk funny?" Seth asked, squinting at David.

Katie punched him in the arm. "Be polite," she stressed, before beaming at David. "Where are you from?"

"Umm, England," David said anxiously.

"England?" Seth asked incredulously. "That's like, a bajillion miles away!"

"It is not," Katie said scathingly. "My daddy can't drive for a bajillion miles. He'd get all burned up."

"It is too a bajillion miles," Seth argued.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is NOT!" Katie yelled, waving her fist daintily under Seth's nose.

David slowly backed away, his eyes extremely wide. Whoever these people were, they were crazy.

**XXX**

"Okay, Buff," Willow said brightly. "This spell should make you glow blue."

"And if I don't?" Buffy asked icily.

Some of the cheer left the witch's face. "Then you're not Buffy."

Buffy stared stonily ahead while Willow spoke under her breath, scattering a handful of plants around the chalk circle. Buffy felt a rush of something through her body, and when she looked down she reflexively exhaled. There was a glowing blue nimbus surrounding her. Turning a righteous glare at everyone else, Buffy noted that Willow had a purple glow emanating from her.

"That s'posed to happen, Red?" Spike asked when the spell was over, gesturing to her glow.

Willow looked down and gave a little jump. "Uh, not really."

"Do you know what it means?" Giles asked her.

Willow frowned. "Well, if the ghost has a summoner and they're close to the identification spell, then they glow purple but I haven't done any spells that might have summoned Buffy's spirit from the ether."

Everyone contemplated this for a few minutes. "You don't think it was that spell you tried the summer after Buffy died, do you?" Anya asked suddenly.

"Wait, what's this?" Giles asked sharply.

"The summer after Buffy died Xander and I and Willow and Tara tried a spell to resurrect her," Anya said, completely oblivious to Willow's spreading blush.

"Are you off your bloody bird?" Spike asked sharply.

"While I think that reaction might be a bit extreme, I have to agree with the sentiment," Giles said sternly. "Didn't you know how dangerous a spell like that is on its own, let alone trying it on someone who died by jumping through an inter-dimensional rift? It is one in a million that the spell works at all. It's less than ten million to one that the spell works correctly."

Willow frowned slightly. "I didn't know, but after spending so much time with the coven I wouldn't be so foolish as to try it again."

"So, what now?"

**XXX**

"Can't you just, y'know, magic her a new body?" Dawn asked.

Willow shrugged. "It's not that easy, you know. If you create a living body then you have a living soul. It wouldn't be a human one exactly, but it would still be wrong to kill it just so Buffy could have a body."

"So," Buffy began, "I'm just stuck without a body forever?"

"Maybe not," Willow said thoughtfully. "I think I have an idea that might work but I'd have to check some things out. It might take a while."

"Buffy," Giles said, "As a ghost you do have some control over the physical world."

"I think I would have spotted that if I had it, Giles," Buffy huffed.

Giles took off his glasses and began to polish them. "Perhaps not. You're actually employing them right now. Your soul is exerting it's will to affect it's place in the world. This is the easiest thing to do as a ghost."

"Did anybody understand that?" Xander asked.

Anya patted him on the arm. "It's easy, sweety. Because a part of Buffy refuses to believe that she'll fall through a chair then she doesn't, but if you bring it up her conscious brain makes her fall through it." Everyone stared at Anya in shock. "What? I can't know what Giles is talking about once in a while? It's not that different to a Vengeance Demon's teleporting, you know."

"That is another way that Buffy can, er, use her powers," Giles said. "Of course, like most skills it gets easier the more one does it. Or so I understand."

Buffy blinked. "So, I was threatening myself?"

Giles smiled. "There are other ways that you can interact with the world, Buffy. The spirit realm is one of desire. Earlier today, your desire to see your friends made it an actuality. It becomes much harder when you wish to change something in the physical world, but it can be done."

"I can move ouija boards?" Buffy asked, amused.

"Well, not at first. It would take quite a lot of practice to make a change that large. But I suppose that, if you concentrated enough, you might be able to wipe condensation from another surface."

"Great," Buffy whined. "I'm Buffy the window wiper."

"Ah," Xander soothed. "Don't feel bad, Buff. Will'l get you in a new body soon." Buffy smiled at her friend gratefully. "But before she does--"

"Stop now, honey," Anya advised him. She looked at the room at large. "Sometimes he can be tactless."

**XXX**

"How you feelin', B?" Faith asked.

Everyone had gone home or to their rooms except the two Slayers. Buffy rested her chin on her knees. "Spike's changed a lot, hasn't he?"

Faith grinned wryly. "Yeah, B. He has."

**XXX**

**A/N:** _And there it is. The result of one year of writing and learning. I'd like to think I've come a long way. At the very least I think I can tell a story better these days. Here's hoping for another year filled with as much growth as this last one. Of course, you all know what helps? REVIEWS._


	8. Achievements

**A/N:**_ Well, I have to say I'm a little disappointed with everyone's response to my last chapter. Well, I shouldn't say everyone because I did get some absolutely lovely reviews, but it is upsetting that so few of you did in fact review. The only reason this is being written right now is because I'm incredibly pleased with another piece I wrote, and felt a little creative._

**Disclaimer:**_ Only a shortish chapter, but I'm still a little burned out from the last long one and a little bummed out from the lack of response. I know there are a few of you who didn't get to read the last chapter before I posted this one, but it still is a bit of a drain. Hopefully we'll reach over a hundred reviews with this chapter, eh?_

**XXXXX**

**Achievements**

Caitlin Roselyn Barclay was very excited. It was her first day of school and it looked like it was going to be the bestest day ever in the whole wide world. It would have been even better if her Daddy had been able to walk her in like Auntie Anya and Uncle Whelp were doing for Seth, but it was too sunny outside and she didn't want him to get all crispy so she just gave him an extra big hug before she got out of the car.

Her hand gripped Auntie Bit's extra hard in excitement, and she decided to skip the rest of the way. Today was important enough to be a skipping day. She took a deep breath as Auntie Bit opened the door and her eyes opened in wonder at the sight that greeted her.

There were other kids everywhere. There was a dark-haired little girl playing with some blocks on a colourful mat. There was a sandy-haired little girl playing with dolls not far away. There were two dark-haired boys playing with the trains and cars. There was one light-haired boy colouring in a big book. Then there were lots of kids, almost 'leven of them, playing a game with a grown-up in the front of the room.

Katie trailed after Auntie Bit, nervously clutching her warm hand. No-one said there would be this many kids. This wasn't lots, this was heaps! The grown-up stood and came over to her and Auntie Bit, knelt down and smiled.

"Hello, who are you?" the grown-up asked.

All of Katie's nervousness disappeared. She knew the answer to this. "I'm Caitlin Roselyn Barclay," she boasted proudly.

The strange grown-up smiled. "Hello there, Caitlin Roselyn Barclay." They shook hands. "Would you like to go and play with some of the other kids while I talk with your mom?"

Katie giggled. "That's not my mom. That's my Auntie Bit."

Still, Katie decided that it would be interesting to see what the other kids were doing. The big group of kids was still a bit much, so she skipped over to the girl playing with dolls. "Hi, I'm Caitlin Roselyn Barclay," she introduced herself.

The little girl waved. "Hi. I'm Alyson."

Katie plopped down on the floor and looked on as Alyson played with her dolls. "Which one's the vampire?" she asked after a while trying to decode the game.

Alyson screwed up her little face. "There is no vampire."

"Then who eats the princesses up?" Katie asked confusedly.

"No one!" Alyson exclaimed, horrified.

Katie shot the other girl a look that very clearly expressed her disgust in the idea of a game where vampires don't eat the princesses and her overall concern for the other child's mental health, then she decided to see what the other girl was doing.

She trudged over to the dark-haired girl playing blocks. "I'm Caitlin Roselyn Barclay."

The girl looked up and blinked. "Hi," she said brightly. "I'm Juliet."

"What are you playing?" Katie asked.

"I'm building a house out of blocks," Juliet said proudly.

"Why?"

Juliet blinked. "Because."

"Oh."

The two girls looked at each other for a minute. Katie decided that maybe she should see what the boys were doing. She wandered over nonchalantly. "I'm Caitlin Roselyn Barclay," she announced.

"I'm Marc," one of the boys smiled, and Katie smiled back.

The other one squinted suspiciously at her for a minute before grudgingly saying, "I'm Andy."

"Can I play?" Katie asked, eyeing the game (which primarily involved smashing the trains and cars together).

Marc smiled broadly and opened his mouth to say something when Andy gripped his arm and whispered fiercely into his ear. Katie just heard, "--she's a girl!"

Andy was saved from a swift pummelling by the Teacher-person greeting Seth. Glaring at the rude little boy, she wandered over to meet her friend and introduce him to everyone.

**XXX**

Buffy was focused. She had never been this focused before in her life. She was Focus Girl. If she'd had focus like this when she was at school, she would have gotten better grades than Willow. That's how focused she was. She was just a big, focus-y… thing.

She moved her hand forward and it passed through the pencil.

"Damn!" she yelled in frustration.

Two days ago she mastered the art of wiping fog off glass -- and that was not an easy feat to manage without getting an eyeful of Willow or Faith or, worst of all, Giles in the shower these days. Yesterday she had managed to wipe condensation from a glass, even though it had been a bit of a stretch. She'd done it. She was affecting the world around her, and she was getting better at it. She hardly ever fell through the furniture anymore.

Except for the fact where she couldn't do anything worth doing. She couldn't even move a damn pencil and she'd been trying all morning. Well, all night and morning. After a discussion with Giles, Buffy had discovered that sleep was entirely unnecessary now she had a physical body and that she'd only slept through habit. Since she wasn't really tired, she guessed it must be true.

Now, if only this damn pencil would move she'd be able to have a good day! Well, so long as Giles and Willow didn't suddenly start getting… _that way_, and she could move the pencil, then she'd have a good day. There was still nothing that gave her the wiggins like watching Giles and Willow get all smoochy, and she was still trying to erase the image of the time she accidentally walked in on them getting groiny. Thankfully there was a good bit of blanket covering their unmentionables, but Buffy still saw way, _way_ too much for her liking.

Buffy gave a little sigh. The pencil was mocking her, she was sure of it. It was sitting there, in all it's unmoveable pencil glory. She just wanted to give it a hard shove to send it on the floor. That would teach it a lesson. Buffy narrowed her eyes and jabbed a finger at the pencil. It ponderously rolled across the table as though a wind had blown it.

Buffy felt exhilaration course through her system, and she laughed joyously. She did it! She moved the pencil! "Not so smug now, are ya?" she taunted, dancing around the table a little bit.

"You all right, B?" Faith asked with an amused smirk.

Buffy paused mid-dance to look at the Slayer. Not even embarrassment could drown out this victory. She grinned. "I moved the pencil!"

Faith smirk shifted into a grin of her own. "Way to go, B."

Buffy felt all the tension of three days worth of trying and focusing to change the world in a tangible way, a way that lasted more than a few seconds, suddenly burst into excited joy. "I have to tell everyone," she gushed.

She concentrated as best as she was able, closed her eyes and _there_. When she opened them she wasn't quite where she expected.

For the first couple of days after Giles's revelation, Buffy had mastered the art of her teleporting. She'd learned an important trick: she could go to a place, like she did when she first went to Dawn's and Xander's and Spike's and Angel's, or she could go to a person, which was more useful. It didn't matter where the person was, so long as they weren't in a church, Buffy could go where they were. She'd practiced and practiced until she could go to wherever the person she wanted to see was nearly instantly.

This, however, was not where she expected to be. There was fog everywhere, and she didn't recognise anything around her. She only noticed the sound of the shower when it stopped, and she froze. Now she realised it was steam obscuring her vision she could make out some vague shadows; a sink, a toilet, a mirror, the shower itself. All her thoughts stopped when the shower door slid open and a very naked, very wet Spike stepped out.

Water glistened off his alabaster skin. His lean form was covered in well-formed muscles, the water beading in the joints of his limbs. His wet hair hung around his face, framing his killer cheekbones and blue, blue eyes. He looked a lot better than she remembered. A memory floated across her mind, something Cordelia Chase had said long ago. Salty goodness.

"Eh," Buffy squeaked in surprise. This was bad. This was really bad. No-one told her this could happen!

She watched in horror as Spike's head snapped up, and he began searching for the sound.

_Please don't see me, please don't see me, please don't see me,_ Buffy chanted desperately in her head.

"Buffy?" Spike asked the world at large, looking confused. Buffy refused to answer him. "Must be losing my mind," he muttered to himself.

He shrugged elegantly to himself and proceeded to towel himself dry. Buffy's mouth suddenly felt very dry itself. It wasn't until he tied the towel around his waist and head for his bedroom that Buffy realised what she had to do. Closing her eyes, she concentrated and _there_. She was safe in Faith's kitchen. No more smooth, taut body taunting her vision and she was perfectly happy about that. Not disappointed in the slightest.

"You okay, B?" Faith asked, sipping her morning coffee. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine," Buffy said, eyes wide. "No ghost. Didn't see anything at all."

"You sure you're okay, B?" Faith asked worriedly.

"Sure I'm fine," Buffy said frantically. "Why wouldn't I be fine? I didn't see anything."

**XXX**

"You don't want to play with a girl," Andy whispered to Seth while they were playing with the cars.

"Why not?" Seth asked curiously.

Andy rolled his eyes. "Because girls have cooties."

"Oh," Seth said slowly. "What are they?"

"Don't you know what cooties are?" Andy asked incredulously.

Seth's brow furrowed. "Of course I do! I was just… seeing if you knew."

Andy heaved a sigh of relief.

"Only, do sisters get them?"

Andy looked suspiciously at Seth. "Are you sure you know about cooties?"

"Of course!' Seth exclaimed indignantly.

Andy peered at him some more. "Because I thought everyone who knew anything knew that you can't get cooties from a sister. 'cos of mimunity."

"I knew that," Seth muttered, eyeing the other boy, just daring him to say that he didn't.

**XXX**

"Hello?" Spike's voice echoed throughout the house.

Buffy froze.

Spike's head appeared around the doorway. "Oh, hi, Slayer," he said, entering the lounge. "Didn't know if you were here or not."

"I'm here," Buffy trilled. "Where else would I be?"

Spike looked at Buffy oddly. "I'm just trying to kill some time until the end of Katie's first day at school," he explained. "It was too bright for me to drop her off this morning, but some clouds have come in so as long as I'm quick I should be able to pick her up no problems."

"That's great," Buffy said with a huge, plastic smile. "Absolutely great. Like, really great."

Spike frowned. "You okay, Slayer?"

"Fine," Buffy squeaked. "Why wouldn't I be? I didn't see anything at all!"

Spike blinked. "Alright…" He looked around. "Faith around?"

Buffy pointed without saying anything, and she most certainly, without a doubt, was _not_ checking out his ass as he left to find the other Slayer.

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ I have a challenge for you all. I have named all the children (except for Caitlin, who is an exception) according to a particular code or theme. For every reviewer who figures out the pattern I've used I'll write them a cameo in the story. Remember, the theme is first names only, and don't feel bad if you don't get it because it's kind of subtle. But REVIEW, even if you don't get it to let me know what you think of the fic._


	9. When animals attack

**A/N:**_ A wonderful response to the last chapter, all. This chapter has been so long in the coming because life is becoming more and more hectic. I'm going to try and organise things so that I have a chapter of a story once a week (most likely on a weekend), and (hopefully) get out a drabble during the week. Of course, since my life is so hectic I may miss it from week to week. I'll try not to but I'm not making any promises. _

**Disclaimer:**_ The list of cameos begins here. Rather than make the story suffer and potentially miss someone by accident, I'm going to tell the story the way I feel necessary. If you're not mentioned here, I may know I've passed you over for now, but send me a message (preferably in review form) telling me I missed you and the name you want me to use. _

**XXXXX**

**When animals attack**

"EEEK!"

Everyone in the playground spun to face the origin of the shrill shriek. Andy was standing stiff as a board, a small brown squirrel perched on his shoulder. An expression of indescribable horror was frozen to his face.

"What should he do?" Juliet stage whispered to the world in general.

Seth twitched with excitement. "Kill it!"

"How?"

Katie's eyes darted around the playground until she spied a stick lying on the ground. Sprinting towards it, she picked it up and gripped it like a baseball bat. Dashing towards Andy, she swung the stick with all her might. Everything happened in slow motion.

The stick arced through the air, leaving a blur behind it.

The squirrel, sensing danger, hurled itself from the boy's shoulder.

The teacher, worried by the lack of noise in the playground stepped out to see what was happening.

A thunderous crack as the stick collided with Andy's head.

Andy collapsing to the ground in an explosion of blood.

Caitlin Roselyn Barclay dropping the broken stick, her chest heaving with victory.

The ragged cheer for the ragged saviour.

**XXX**

"Okay, boys and girls," Miss said brightly. "This is Vani, the class pet."

Katie felt cold fingers of dread clutch at the core of her being as Miss pulled out a rabbit. She looked over at Seth, who looked worse than she felt. Sweat beaded on the boy's head. He screamed when the savage thing suddenly lunged towards him. Gathering all her courage, Katie leapt to her feet and dived towards the beast, intent on tackling it onto the ground and saving her friend.

Miss regained her control over the vicious animal and lifted it high above danger.

"Katie, what are you doing?" she asked sternly.

"She's trying to kill the rabbit," Juliet said dreamily. "Like she killed the rat."

"We don't kill things," Miss said forcefully.

Seth's brow furrowed. "What about demons? Bad demons," he amended hastily when he noticed Katie's glare.

"Well," Miss said, obviously unprepared for this line of reasoning. "I guess that's okay."

Katie beamed. "Then I can kill the rabbit."

"What? No!"

"My mom says rabbits are demons and they should all be killed," Seth said.

Miss slumped in her seat. She wasn't ready for children this… spirited.

**XXX**

"Hi," the women purred, delicately extending a hand towards Spike. "You can call me Jools."

Spike nervously shook the woman's hand. He'd been a vampire for well over a century and he'd almost never come across such a predatory creature before. "Er, William," he finally offered.

He watched as his daughter bounded up and put out her hand to be shaken. "I'm Caitlin Roselyn Barclay," she beamed before turning to Spike and raising her arms.

Jools looked at Spike intently. "Are you William Barclay?"

"Yeah," Spike said, a feeling of trepidation growing.

"The William Barclay, author of Lesson The First?"

Spike was uncomfortably aware of the growing interest from the parents picking their children up. "Yeah."

"I loved that book," Jools leered.

"Thanks?" Spike murmured. He'd had some success as an author, but he'd never found himself leered at until today.

"Hi, I'm Amber," said another mum to Spike's left. "It's really nice to meet you. Is there any chance I can get you to autograph my copy of your book?"

"Hi, I'm Julia," another piped. 'I love your work. I _really_ love your work."

"Will you be writing a sequel?" Amber asked.

"I think it's disgusting," one woman's shrill voice announced over the din. "That a smut peddler like him is allowed to come to the same place where our children learn! He'll corrupt our children with his mindless filth!"

"If you know what's in his book, doesn't that mean you've read it?" Faith asked as she walked into the class. "Found a shady spot for the car, Spike," she informed him casually before noticing his hangers on. "Back off, ladies, fun's over."

Spike sighed in relief when the flocking mothers unhappily left him alone.

"Hello Auntie Fayt," Katie smiled over Spike's shoulder.

"Hey kiddo," she replied, ruffling the girl's hair.

"Mr Barclay?" a harassed young woman asked. Spike nodded. "I'm Sheila Benson, Katie's teacher. Can I have a word with you?"

**XXX**

"Mr Barclay, I'm going to be blunt," Sheila said. "I'm worried about your daughter."

Spike frowned. "Is she okay? Nothing happened, did it?"

Sheila hesitated. "Not to her, as such. I'm worried about how violent she seems to be."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked dangerously.

Sheila gulped. "She hit one of the other students in the head with a stick as hard as she could. He had to go to the hospital."

Spike blinked. That didn't sound like Katie. "Did she say why?"

"All of the children said she killed a rat," Sheila said, "but I didn't see anything. To me, it looked like she hit a boy in the head with a stick."

"Anything else?" Spike asked quietly.

"Well," Sheila began. "She did seem to have a very unusual reaction to the class pet."

"What kind of animal is it?"

Sheila gave him an odd look. "It's a rabbit, why?"

A slight smirk crossed his face. "Her aunt has passed on her extreme views on rabbits to the children."

"Regardless," Sheila said when he didn't elaborate. "I'd prefer not to have to take steps. Now, I don't think Andy's parents are interested in pressing charges - apparently he just had a split lip and a lot of bruising - but I can't have any of the kids in my care acting in such a manner."

Spike smiled slightly. "I'll take care of it."

**XXX**

Buffy needed something to do. Faith was going out slaying early tonight to give Willow and Giles some more them time, which was, y'know, fine and all. It just left Buffy with nothing to do is all. Well, it occurred to her that she could always visit Sp-- no, no visiting there or anywhere near there, or anywhere with showers or potentially naked people in showers. Because she certainly didn't want to. At all. Not even a little bit.

But Angel would be busy talking to Fred, and she didn't want to intrude on whatever privacy they managed to get. Xander and Anya would probably be asleep by now or, knowing Anya, very much not asleep but still in bed. She tried to think of another option.

Oz! Good old Oz! He'd be a great distract-- friend to visit! Nothing can go wrong with Oz. Although she didn't know where he was, which meant she'd have to try and see him by going to him and not where he was, and that led to all kinds of badness. But it was 9:30 PM, surely everything would be fine. Nobody showered at 9:30.

Feeling much more secure in her decision, Buffy concentrated, closed her eyes and _there_.

"Uh, Buffy?" Oz's voice said unsurely.

Buffy's eyes opened. Oz was naked.

Oh no! oh no, oh no, ohno, ohno, ohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohno! Was this always going to happen to her? Her eyes were drawn to his pale shoulders which, she was disturbed to note, had a sweaty sheen and a handful of red nail marks. A hickey on his neck, and Buffy refused to let her eyes head further south. The sound of a shower dimly made itself aware in Buffy's mind.

"This is kinda a bad time," Oz's voice said, as unruffled as ever. "Next time, call first?"

She frantically closed her eyes and _there_.

Frantically she opened her eyes to a familiar, somewhat comforting sight. She was in Spike's apartment. Which, y'know, was a huge step up from being in the room with a naked and sexified Oz, but a long step down from being somewhere, anywhere else. Not that it was a problem. It totally wasn't. Why should it be? Spike was a friend. A good friend. A good friend with an enormous-- bad Buffy!

"Oh, uh, hello," a friendly, nervous voice intruded on Buffy's inner rambling. "You must be Buffy. I'm Clem," he said, extending a hand and, after seeing the look on Buffy's face, let it drop. "Sorry. Habit."

He wasn't the ugliest demon she'd ever seen. Not by a long shot. He was sort of cute… in a pink, saggy, roundish, pointed teeth way. Like a demonic Care Bear. Oh great, now Buffy would spend ages wondering if he shoots rainbows out of his stomach.

"I'm a friend of Spike's," Clem said into the silence. "I'm watching Katie for him tonight."

"Clem," Katie's piping voice said with perfect timing for Clem. Buffy had been two seconds away from running to Spike to let him know there was a demon in his house. "Hello, Buffy," she said backhandedly as though Buffy was there every night. "Clem, Katie can't sleep."

Clem got down on one knee. "Can't she?"

"No," Katie pouted. "And she spilled some milk in the kitchen."

Clem threw Buffy an apologetic smile, before leading the little girl, who, for some reason, was talking in the third person, to the offending milk. "We better just clean that up and get Katie to bed then."

"Katie doesn't want to go to bed," Caitlin said quickly, smiling winsomely.

"Katie knows her daddy wants her to be in bed by the time he gets home," Clem said mock-sternly.

Katie's smile was a 100 watts. "But Katie won't be up when Daddy gets home. Clem will put her to bed before then."

A gentle smile from Clem had Katie scrambling to the couch in front of the TV, where she stared at the screen intently, as though it would disappear if she didn't. Buffy left her there and went back to the kitchen where Clem was putting the aborted glass of milk away.

"Uh, Clem?"

"Yeah?"

"You watch Katie often?" Buffy asked nonchalantly.

Clem nodded. "Oh, sure. I watch her every time Spike has dinner with Isabelle."

Buffy stiffened. No matter what parts of her were saying, she was not, under any circumstance, curious about the last part of that sentence. Gathering the focus and willpower she'd learned since becoming a ghost, she spoke, "Then, does Katie usually talk about herself in the third person?"

Clem grinned again, and Buffy couldn't help but like him. "Not usually. She's only like this when Spike gets really angry at her. I guess she figures her dad can't be angry at her if she isn't her."

Buffy blinked at the child's logic. "She's in trouble?"

"Katie tried to help a boy at school," the girl's voice rang out. "Daddy said Katie can't help any more boys or girls with sticks, and there was to be no more killing demons no matter how evil they are," she recited.

There was a ding as the microwave bell went off. "Ooh! My nachos!"

After Clem hurried out of the room, Buffy leaned in next to Katie. "Who's Isabelle?"

"Is'belle is Daddy's special friend," Katie whispered back. "Sometimes they go out together and then Clem watches me, and Clem lets me stay up late even when Daddy asks him not to and why are we whispering and I saved a boy from an evil rat at school today and it was so evil they tooked him to the hostibal and then I came home and watched Pokemon and," the stream of words slowed to a halt with a jaw cracking yawn.

Clem dropped on the couch with a thump, happily munching away at nachos.

"So, Clem," Buffy began. "How long have you know Spike?"

"Oh, years now," Clem said affably. "I met him when he was getting over his crush on you. Before he met Darla."

"His… crush?" Buffy asked thickly.

Clem's face was the picture of pointy-toothed concern. "Uh, yeah. His crush. You did know about it, right?"

"_Tell me you love me."_

"_You know I do."_

"Uh, yeah, I guess I did." She looked at the little girl who was dozing on the couch, a little puddle of drool forming slowly under her cheek. "He's changed a lot," she mused.

"Not really," Clem mumbled, snacking at his nachos again. "I mean, yeah, he's more responsible and junk but Spike's always been pretty tough. He's been about the same the whole time I've known him."

"I meant that he used to be a vicious killer," Buffy clarified, thinking back to a school function years ago.

"_Do we really need weapons for this?"_

"_I just like them. They make me feel all manly."_

"He still is, really," Clem said, licking the cheese off his fingers. "Only now he just kills demons. He's always been the Big Bad. It's part of why I like him."

Those words triggered an uncomfortable realisation in Buffy. The Big Bad attitude was why she'd liked him, why she like him now. He was somehow bigger than life, and he made all your regular problems seem insignificant. Sure, half the time it was because he'd caused you even bigger problems but he was always there, always in your face.

As Buffy looked at the sleeping, drool-encrusted face of his daughter, Buffy realised something else. Spike hadn't changed. She had. He'd tried to be better when she had been using him, but she'd been killing him as surely as she'd been killing herself.

_Great,_ Buffy thought sourly. _Like I need epiphanies to make me feel even more guilty._

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ Not as good as I'd have liked it. I think I handled the school scenes poorly. When I eventually go back and tidy up my old stories I'll just find a way to fix it. I think I fit around five cameos into that chapter, too, which was a plus. Also, as a special thank you gift for being a crash dummy for ideas, I included a special scene in this chapter. You know who you are, and you should know what scene it is…_

_Hopefully now I'm back writing again things will go more smoothly in future. Of course, a REVIEW will make it go much faster (usually)._


	10. Bodies

**A/N:**_ I don't really know what I'm doing here. I'm sure that there will be plot holes the size of Kansas (and from what I hear, Kansas is pretty big) with my idea, but I'm too tired and brain sore to figure out any more and fix them up. Deal with them. _

**Disclaimer:**_ Not a huge response to the last chapter, but to all of you who did review I extend a second thanks. Means a lot to get so many lovely reviews. It'd mean a lot more to get even more lovely reviews, of course. _

**XXXXX**

**Bodies**

And _there_.

Buffy let out a small sigh of satisfaction when she opened her eyes and everything was exactly the same as it always was. The house was the same. And blessedly quiet.

Buffy liked Clem. She really did. He was a nice guy… demon… demon guy and all but he spoke a lot, and since he turned the TV up so loud she'd wondered if he had any ears at all it meant he was almost yelling a lot, right next to her ear. She was just glad she was a ghost, because if she wasn't she'd probably have half-chewed nachos all over her.

"Buffy?" Willow asked, coming into the lounge room. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," Buffy said wearily. "Hi, Will."

Willow smiled excitedly. "I was just going to try and call you," she said. "I need to call a Scooby meeting."

"Uhh, 'kay?" Buffy said unsurely.

"Which is fine, except I can't call Spike. His cell phone is off or something," Willow continued.

Buffy grimaced. "He's on a date."

Willow blinked. "Oh. Well, this is kinda important so could you just pop over to him and see if he could make it to Xander and Anya's place? As soon as possible would be good." Buffy hesitated. "Uh, that's not a problem, is it?"

Buffy forced a smile. "No! No problem. No problem at all. Why would there be a problem? There wouldn't be, because there isn't. See? I'm going right now."

Ignoring the slightly worried and very confused look on Willow's face, Buffy closed her eyes and _there_. She opened her eyes with trepidation, and immediately felt her fears justified. Spike was sitting at a nice table with a romantic table setting. He was alone. Looking around wildly, she recognised the restaurant as a tiny little Italian place that Riley had taken her to once. Spike's date was nowhere to be seen. Not that she knew what the woman looked like.

Frowning, Buffy started forward hurriedly. This would be so much easier if she could get in and get out before having to meet Spike's date.

"Spike," she said in a low voice, a shiver of malicious pleasure running through her when he jumped like he'd had a heart attack. "Willow wants you to go to Xander and Anya's ASAP."

Spike's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"I don't know," Buffy sighed impatiently. "All she said was that it was important."

"Can't be that important," Spike said dismissively, sipping his wine. "She can fill me in tomorrow."

Buffy gaped. "But…"

"Listen, Slayer," he explained. "If it were urgent she'd contact me telepathically, she wouldn't send you. Now, if you don't mind, bugger off."

Buffy glared. "Listen, you," she began before Spike cut her off again.

"No, you listen! Between writing and Katie and patrolling I don't get a night to myself very often, and you're off your sodding bird if you think I'm going to duck out on dinner with a lovely lady to attend a bloody Scooby meeting!"

Buffy was wordless with shock.

"Sorry about that, Will," a woman's throaty voice said. "Who's this?"

Buffy spun about and saw the most gorgeous woman she'd seen in a long time sitting down at Spike's table. High cheekbones, big brown eyes, lush brown hair, full pouty lips and an ample bosom were all set off to perfection by elegantly applied make-up and a stunning dress. Buffy loathed her instantly.

"This is Dawn's sister, Buffy," Spike said with a warning glance at Buffy. "She's moved here from L.A. so she can be closer to her sisters."

"Nice to meet you, Buffy," the woman said warmly extending her hand. "I'm Isabelle."

Buffy stared at the perfectly manicured hand but didn't take it for the obvious reason. And there was certainly not a traitorous little voice in the back of her head that was saying she wouldn't take it even if she could. Eventually, the woman's smile faltered and she withdrew her hand.

"She was just leaving, love," Spike told Isabelle. "Weren't you, Buffy?" he grated before turning back to his date. "She just gets a little over-excited is all, and Willow mentioned that she wanted to see me so Buffy came running down here to get me."

Isabelle smiled indulgently at Buffy, her perfect white teeth shining in the romantic lighting. Buffy hated her so much.

"Uh, yeah," Buffy said when Spike gave her another warning glare. "So I guess I'll be going."

Feeling absolutely mortified, Buffy hurried out of the restaurant, closed her eyes and _there_.

**XXX**

Isabelle stared after the vanished young girl, a soft smile on her lips.

"I'm sorry about her, love," William apologised.

"Don't worry about it," she laughed. She turned twinkling eyes on the handsome man sitting across the table from her. "You know she has a crush on you, right?"

Will blinked, then let out a snort of laughter. "Her? Buffy bloody Summers?"

Isabelle smiled broadly. "Laugh all you like, Will, it's not going to make her crush go away."

"You're daft," Will said, shaking his head. "The woman bloody hates me."

"She was glaring daggers at me from the moment I sat down," Isabelle observed. "She was probably jealous."

Will looked at her incredulously. "Why would she be jealous?"

"I don't know," Isabelle admitted. "But she's a young woman with a crush. My guess is she's not all that rational at the moment."

"Can we change the subject?" William asked in a pained voice.

"Sure," Isabelle smiled an evil grin. "About your next book…"

Will groaned. "You're a bloody slave-driver!"

**XXX**

Buffy opened her eyes.

"Hey, Buff," Xander said easily.

"Hi, Buffy," Anya said somewhat more sleepily.

Oz nodded his greeting, and Buffy felt like she should be blushing or something.

Dawn yawned and waved.

"Hey guys," Buffy greeted. "Where's Willow?"

"Here I am," Willow said from behind her as she bustled into the room. "Hi Buffy. Is Spike going to make it?"

"No," Buffy muttered bitterly. "He's too busy."

Willow seemed a little disappointed. "Oh. Oh well, it's not that important."

"Why are we all here, Will?" Dawn asked through another yawn.

"You'll find out," Willow said enigmatically. "I'm almost ready. Faith and Giles are just bringing in the rest of the stuff."

As though summoned by the witch's words, Giles entered carrying a small box filled with herbs. He was followed by Faith carrying the restored Buffybot in her arms.

"What's that doing here?" Buffy asked in revulsion.

"It's going to be your new body," Willow said brightly.

"Wha?" Xander asked.

"It's like this," Willow explained. "Buffy's soul is in tact but her body is gone. She's not a proper ghost, because they usually lose the part of them that can connect to a body. So we needed to find a new body for Buffy, but it would be wrong to create a life just to kill it and it'd be worse to kill a life already living so Buffy could have the body, and I got to thinking about it and then I realised we already had the perfect body for it, so I started repairing it and preparing it to accept Buffy's soul."

"Will that work?" Buffy asked unsurely.

"Uh, maybe," Willow answered uncertainly. "I'm not entirely sure."

"You got a better idea, B?" Faith asked impatiently.

Buffy sighed. "Let's do it."

At Willow's direction, she lay directly in the Buffybot so the two were indistinguishable. Buffy waited patiently while Willow scattered herbs around her. Then the chanting started. Willow's voice took on an odd inflection. It was almost hypnotic.

Buffy closed her eyes and let Willow's voice wrap around her. It felt powerful and ancient. Suddenly, her whole body was wracked in pain. Her chest ached as though it were being crushed, her limbs burned as though they were on fire, her ears felt like they were splitting, her eyes exploded in pain, a foul acrid stench flooded her nose.

Then it stopped.

Sitting up, Buffy looked at her friends in dismay. Her friends who were grinning.

"It worked," Willow breathed wearily.

"I hate to tell you, Will, but it didn't," Buffy said slowly, as though explaining to a small child.

"It worked, B," Faith said through her wide grin. "Look behind you."

With a long suffering sigh, Buffy clumsily looked behind her. The Buffybot wasn't there. Then she noticed something. She was heavy. She had a body.

"It worked!" she squeaked.

"I'm very happy for you, Buffy," Giles said in his British upper-crusty way. "However, there are several things you should know."

"What?" Buffy asked suspiciously.

"Well, your new body is not as strong nor as fast as your old body," he explained. "It is an incredible piece of machinery, but it is still machinery and unable to operate at the same level as a Slayer. On the other hand, you should have a much higher pain threshold now as your new body is considerably more resistant to damage."

Buffy nodded. "Makes sense."

"It's also somewhat heavier," he added awkwardly. "Willow spent much of her time trying to remove excess weight without removing any of it's capabilities but she could only do so much."

"I'm fat now?" Buffy asked worriedly, looking her new body over frantically.

"It's not that bad," Willow murmured. "It should only be about fifteen pounds."

"Oh," Buffy frowned. "I guess that's okay."

"You'll also have to recharge at least once a week, until your soul attaches itself to the body firmly," Giles told her, drawing Willow into his arms.

"I'm really very happy for you, Buffy," Anya said suddenly, "but can you leave already?"

"Sure thing, Anya," Buffy agreed magnanimously.

Faith stretched, popping the joints in her shoulders. "You feel up to patrolling, B?" she asked casually.

Buffy's eyes lit up. "Let's go."

Buffy followed Faith with an awkward gait until she got back into the rhythm of using a body again.

**XXX**

They didn't speak as they ghosted through the tombstones. Buffy felt a deep-seated sense of rightness as she followed a ritual she'd been doing for years.

"B," Faith suddenly began.

"Yeah?"

"What are you gonna do about Spike?" she asked after a moment's pause.

Buffy made a face. "What do you mean?"

Faith rolled her eyes. "It's wicked obvious you have the hots for him."

"I _so_ do not!" Buffy said in outrage.

"Look, whatever," Faith dismissed. "I just need to make sure you're not gonna do something stupid. He has a little girl now, and he doesn't need that stress."

"Me? Have a thing for Spike?" Buffy asked, before laughing unconvincingly. "Anyway, if you think he's so great why don't you ask him out?"

"He's not my type, B," Faith replied. "I prefer some muscle on my man."

"Spike has muscles! Very nice muscles," Buffy argued defensively.

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"Not that I've looked,' Buffy back peddled nervously.

"I'm just looking out for a friend, B," Faith told her. "If you like him, that's cool. He's a good guy. Just make sure you do like him before you try anything."

Buffy stared after the Slayer. Thoughts were flicking through her head so rapidly that she didn't even know what they were.

Did she like Spike? Would it really be okay with everyone? Why wouldn't she like Spike? He was an evil killer. Not anymore. Leopards never change there spots. He's a vampire. Then vampire's never change their fangs. What about Angel? That's different, he had a soul. Did the soul make him a nice person? Was Spike a nice person? Well, he was a good father. Oh, God, he was a father. He had a kid. An adorable kid.

Focusing, calming herself, Buffy decided to think about this logically.

Was she attracted to Spike? Definitely.

Would her friends object to them going out? Surprisingly, no.

Was Katie a deterrent? Not in the least.

Did Spike have a soul? Did it matter?

Buffy realised something. She felt pure exhilaration. She liked Spike! Liked him, liked him, too! This sensation was immediately followed by despair. He was taken. He had a gorgeous girlfriend. After moping for a few minutes, a new emotion came along. Determination. She'd just have to win Spike.

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ That chapter was so much better the first time…A blackout just as I'm about to save and upload delayed this a day and cost it a lot of quality. Hell, this is a short chapter and nowhere near as good as it was mostly because I'm tired. I think we passed the two-thirds mark here, maybe more, maybe less. I'm not sure. This story is moving more oddly than I planned. Anyhoo, REVIEW and let me know you're enjoying._


	11. Thinking

**A/N:**_ I apologise profusely for the lateness of this post. I've been busy as all get-out and the storm a few days ago kept messing with the power. Sadly, due to a busy schedule this weekend, this week's may be delayed as well. Of course, since this story is beginning to head towards it's end things should become much more interesting._

**Disclaimer:**_ Loved my reviews, same as last time and I thank all of you who did review. I'd hope those of you who are reading and not reviewing would actually change their minds and review, but if wishes were horses poor people could eat a lot of horse meat. I mean, let's face it. They're poor. They can't afford to feed or stable a horse. _

**XXXXX**

**Thinking**

"C'mon, Katie," Buffy urged, tugging on the little girl's hand.

She'd been taking Spike's daughter out a lot in the two weeks since she got her new body. The only reason she was doing it was because she loved the little girl and wanted to do things with her. If, and only if, that happened to mean she spent more time with Spike, well, that was purely coincidental.

"Where's Auntie Bit, Buffy?" Katie whined.

Today they were going to see the latest kids movie with Auntie Bit, but they had to meet her after lunch in the café she and her friends had lunch at. Looking ahead frantically, she was relieved to spot Dawn sitting on a young man's knee with another couple doing the same on the other side of the table.

"There they are," Buffy said, relieved.

Katie put her hands up, demanding to be carried the rest of the way. "My feet hurt."

Suppressing a smile, Buffy picked up the little diva. "Dawn!" she called, waving to her sister who waved her over.

"Buffy, hi," Dawn said cheerfully, jumping off her boyfriend's lap and snatching Katie away from her sister. The little girl giggled as the tall brunette swung her around.

"Hi, I'm Sean," the cute guy Dawn had been sitting on said, extending one hand to Buffy and running the other through his dirty blond hair. Buffy shook it firmly, noting with pleasure how his eyes slid to Dawn and warmed at the sight she and her 'niece' made. He gestured to the other couple. "That's Rose and Dave."

"Hi," Buffy said.

Dave smiled wryly and nodded his head, while his girlfriend smiled widely. "So, Buffy," she began in a patronising tone, "are you going to go to college here?"

Buffy's smile froze on her face. The woman continued to smile in that irritating way that all teens learn to dread, the one that said 'you're going to hear my life advice and you can't do anything to get away'. "Uh…"

"Oh!" Dawn exclaimed, looking up from her watch. "We've got to go or we'll be late," she explained, kissing her boyfriend and hurrying Buffy off at the same time.

Buffy fumed as she trotted behind Dawn, the girl's longer legs and sneakers making Buffy have to jog to keep up. They thought she hadn't even graduated High School! She'd spent a year and a bit at Sunnydale U., thank you very much!

"Buffy, do you need to go to the toilet?" Katie asked over Dawn's shoulder, frowning concernedly. "You should always go pee before we leave the house," she admonished, waving her finger in reprimand.

Buffy wasn't sure, but she thought she heard Dawn snicker.

Buffy endured the kiddie movie with surprising good will. When she thought about it, and the hour and a half of animated 'fun' certainly gave an adult time to think, it made sense that they thought she was just coming out of High School. The 'bot was modelled on photos of her, stolen photos at that, so she guessed that Spike hadn't wanted to draw attention to his theft by stealing the more recent ones.

As the credits rolled, Buffy stood to leave. Both Dawn and Katie remained seated. Buffy's sister looked at her with amused tolerance and nodded towards Katie, who was still riveted to the screen. When the final credits faded out, she stood, stretched and simply began to leave the theatre.

"Sometimes I wonder if she really watches the movie," Dawn said in a low tone. "She stays in the same position the whole time."

"I've been thinking," Katie announced. Buffy and Dawn shared a look, half anticipation and half trepidation. "I need a mommy."

Buffy felt a peculiar emotion begin to expand in her chest until she squashed it down. "Why do you need a mommy?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Because everyone at school has one except me," she said crossly. A speculative expression appeared on her face. "Do you think Is'belle would be my mommy? I like Is'belle."

Buffy hesitated, her mind jumping to a week earlier.

_Buffy straightened her spangly shirt, took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She was _not_ disappointed when Isabelle opened the door because she was just babysitting tonight. She had full prior knowledge that Spike and Isabelle were going to some party in L.A. and she was not, in any way, shape or form trying to make Spike spend the whole night think about her instead. It was just that she was still new to her body and wanted it to look as good as possible._

"_You like Will, don't you?" Isabelle asked warmly._

_Buffy shot the woman an odd look. "Of course. Willow and I have been friends for years."_

"_I meant William," Isabelle laughed._

"_Spike?" she asked in shock. How could the girlfriend know and not Spike? Or did he know and just not care?_

"_He lets you call him Spike?" Isabelle asked, arching an eyebrow. "He must like you. He doesn't let me call him that."_

"_But aren't you his girlfriend?" Buffy asked, confused._

_Isabelle chuckled merrily. "Oh, no. I'm his editor."_

"_Oh."_

"_So, you do like him, right?" Isabelle pressed._

_Buffy hesitated. Part of her wanted to say yes. A big part of her wanted to say yes. She felt her mouth moving. "No," she said and blinked. She wasn't ready for Spike to know yet, and she suspected that Isabelle might not be as close-mouthed as Faith._

_Isabelle looked at her disbelievingly. "You were staring daggers at me the other night," she observed blandly._

"_That was, uh, for Faith," Buffy improvised. "She likes Spike, and I sorta got the wrong idea about you."_

"_You don't like him?" she checked incredulously._

"_No, no, no," Buffy assured rapidly. "He's _really_ not my type." Buffy gave Isabelle a pointed look, hoping against hope that she didn't pick at the lie._

_Isabelle raised both eyebrows appreciatively. "I see," she said, before eyeing Buffy's body appreciatively. The stunning woman let her fingers delicately trace along Buffy's bare wrist. "I love your shirt."_

"Sweety?" Buffy began cautiously. "I don't think Isabelle… I don't… Isabelle isn't the mommy type," she floundered.

Dawn looked at Buffy slyly. "Hey Katie," she said teasingly, "what about Buffy?"

Buffy felt a flush suffuse her cheeks and Katie looked at her appraisingly. "No," she said seriously. "I don't think so."

"Why not?" Buffy asked indignantly, before she could stop herself.

"You're too little," Katie said significantly, making a vaguely circular shape in front of her chest.

Buffy gaped as Dawn burst into hysterics.

"Seriously," the little girl nodded solemnly.

Dawn laughed harder.

**XXX**

"Daddy, I'm home," Katie bellowed as she came in the door.

Spike scratched at his head sleepily as he padded out to meet her. "And where have you been?" he asked he archly.

"To the movies," she responded glibly.

"Really?" he asked in mock surprise.

"Yep."

"I didn't know that," he said ponderously, getting down on one knee and holding out his arms.

Katie grinned as she sprinted into a hug. "Yes you did," she giggled.

"Really," he asked, squeezing her tight.

"Yes," she sighed happily into his shoulder.

"I didn't know that."

"Daddy!"

Spike smiled at her gently. "Did you have fun?"

"It was okay," she said backhandedly.

"Did you thank Buffy?" he asked her, suppressing a grin when she unabashedly shook her head. He shared a glance with Buffy, who still stood in the doorway. "Thanks for takin' her out for the day, Slayer," he said gruffly. "Needed that sleep in."

"Not a problem," Buffy replied genuinely. "She's a pleasure."

"She's a terror," Spike countered, his cool fingers slipping beneath his daughter's shirt to tickle her mercilessly.

"Daddy, stop!" she commanded breathlessly until he did. After she caught her breath she looked Spike in the eye and said, "Daddy, we have to talk."

"About what, love?" he asked.

"Mommies."

Spike blinked. He wasn't really prepared for this. He scratched his tousled head absently.

"Everyone at school has one except me," she complained. "I want you to get me a new one."

"It's not that easy, pet," Spike murmured. He was not prepared for this.

"You have to!" she stressed dramatically.

"Do I?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Katie replied. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Or else."

**XXX**

"I need help," Buffy proclaimed in a hopeless tone, collapsing on the couch.

"What is it this time?" Faith asked sardonically.

"I'm a horrible, horrible person," she groaned. "I just dropped Katie off at home and saw Spike being a great father, the kind you want for your kids, and all I could think about was burying my hands in those curls and dragging him off to the bedroom."

Faith smirked. "You try looking somewhere else?"

"Yeah," Buffy muttered. "Then he picked her up and his shirt shifted a bit and I could see his abs. He has such nice abs."

Faith snorted in amusement at the dreamy tone Buffy's voice had taken. "Hey, B?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me why patrols with Spike have gotten so weird lately?"

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ A short one, I know, but I asked one of my readers and she asserted a short one now and a regular sized one soonish is better than a very long one (this one and the next one together) vaguely soonish. I figured all of your would be impatient, too. Apologies, and it should be back to rights as soon as possible._


	12. Blind Date

**A/N:**_ I forced another one out. I knew what I wanted to say, but I was never in the right mood to say it the way I wanted. On top of that, I've had a hectic schedule, another - longer - blackout and another two or three plot bunnies assaulting me mercilessly. All in all, I think I did well to be done, even if it has been very late._

**Disclaimer:**_ I sorta tried something vaguely different with this chapter. I was undecided about whose perspective to play the major scenes of this chapter from, and so I opted to alternate. This does result in very jumpy chapters though, and I will signify jumps in perspective but not much in time with a single X rather than the regular XXX._

**XXXXX**

**Blind Date**

"No bloody way in hell, Bit," Spike said brusquely, grabbing a box of cereal off the shelf.

Dawn sighed. "Come on, Spike," she begged.

"I said no," Spike said, pushing the trolley forward.

"But it's been forever since you went on a date," Dawn argued. "And this girl really wants to go out with you."

Spike grunted. "Blind date's not my scene, pet."

"Daddy!" Katie's voice echoed down the aisle. "Can I have Coco Pops?"

"I already got them, love," Spike called back.

The little girl beamed and skipped up to the trolley and patted his hand. "Good daddy."

"C'mon, Spike," Dawn pleaded. "If you don't go out with her she'll drive me crazy with asking."

Katie's eyes narrowed. "Daddy, are you getting me a new mommy yet?" she asked threateningly.

Spike breathed out in exasperation. "Fine, fine. I'll go on the bloody date. What's her name?"

Dawn hesitated. "I think she'd rather surprise you there."

**XXX**

"He said he'd do it," Dawn informed Buffy, smiling happily at the ecstatic expression on her sister's face.

"This is great!" Buffy enthused. "When is the date? Where is it? How much time do I have? Does he know it's with me? Oh God! What's he going to think when he finds out it's me? What if he's disappointed? He might be disappointed!"

"Buffy, calm down," Dawn laughed. "I don't think I've ever seen you this nervous before."

"It's just, this is great!" Buffy squealed, bouncing in excitement.

"What's great?" Spike's silken tones asked from the doorway.

Buffy froze, not brave enough to look.

"Buffy has a date," Dawn said, throwing Buffy a sly look. "This weekend."

"Good for you, Slayer," Spike said cheerily.

"Yeah," Dawn agreed innocently. "I set her up on a blind date, too."

"Spike doesn't need to hear about this, Dawn," Buffy said in forced sweetness, her teeth bared in a way that could possibly be confused for a grin.

"Just keeping him informed, sister dear," Dawn sing-songed.

**XXX**

Buffy looked at herself in the mirror. She looked nice. Grunting in frustration she peeled the green dress off and hurried back to her wardrobe. This was hell! No doubt about it, it was some subtle torture invented to punish her. She didn't know what she'd done but this was just horrible.

She only had three hours before her date with Spike and she still didn't know what to wear! That was hardly enough time to do her hair and make-up and shower and pick her shoes and her jewellery and she didn't even have her outfit!

Taking a deep, calming breath, Buffy tried to think rationally. Okay. They were going to a nice place that had opened fairly recently in the heart of town, so it had to be a little classy. The place had dancing, so she needed something good for dancing. They might get attacked by some nasties - always a possibility in Sunnydale - so she needed something that she could fight in and still look good in. She also needed something that would be easy to take off… just in case.

With determination she pulled out an orange dress - and wasn't she glad that Dawn hadn't thrown any of her old clothes away? - and held it up to her body in front of the mirror. Squashing the sense of unease, she carefully lay the dress down on the edge of her bed and strolled into the bathroom.

It was exactly seventeen seconds before she hurtled back into her room to change the dress again.

**XXX**

Caitlin Roselyn Barclay wasn't sure if she was pleased. On one hand, she had been abandoned by her Daddy. On the other hand, she had been dropped off with Auntie Fayt. On the foot, Daddy _was_ doing what she wanted him to do even if she didn't get to interview the lady in question. When she had discussed it with Seth, they had decided that the interview was a crucial part of getting a new mommy.

"Hey, kiddo," Auntie Fayt murmured. "Watcha thinking about?"

"Stuff," Katie replied solemnly.

"You thought about what you're gonna get your Daddy for his birthday?"

Katie nodded brightly. "I'm gonna get him a frog."

Auntie Fayt's lips twitched. "A frog, you say?"

"Yep. A big, green frog. As big as my head."

"Why are you getting him a frog?"

Katie looked at Auntie Fayt as though she was silly. "Because he wants one, duh!"

**XXX**

Buffy ducked under the vampire's lunge and spun about, her crimson dress swirling. The beast snarled and made a grab for her throat, and she swayed back out of reach and her foot snapped out, crushing the kneecap.

It roared savagely and clawed at her face. He fell well short, but managed to hook one of Buffy's shoulder straps, tearing it from the dress. The vampire stared at her half-exposed bosom until she hammered the stake home, turning it into dust.

Gripping the torn fabric she decided it was too damaged to hide and started to jog home. Luckily she hadn't gotten too far and she'd just be a little bit late.

**X**

Spike briskly walked into the restaurant. He nodded to the maitre d'. "Reservation for Barclay."

"Of course, sir," the maitre d' said pleasantly, leading him to a seat in the back of the place.

The seat had a commanding view of the room and dance floor, and romantic lighting. Spike suspected Dawn's hand in this, too. She'd been playing matchmaker with everyone, apparently, and he could just imagine her at her house right now, laughing maniacally at the power she'd garnered.

"Would sir like anything to drink?" the maitre d' asked.

"Just water, thanks, mate," Spike responded, settling into the wooden chair easily.

**X**

This had to be the worst luck ever!

The demon took another swing at her, his meaty paw crumbling the corner of the building. Buffy darted in before it could draw it's powerful arm back and drove the stake into its barrel chest only to get hurled onto a pair of trashcans for her efforts.

Buffy leapt to her feet, dodging its horned head deftly, and danced away from it. She hated it, absolutely hated it, when their hearts weren't in their chests.

Rolling a roundhouse kick to the demon's bull-like head and dropping into a sweeping kick at its ankles, Buffy stood over it and slammed her high heel into its eye. She breathed out in relief when it twitched and stopped moving.

She wanted to cry when her heel snapped off inside its head.

**X**

Spike sipped his water listlessly. He wondered how Katie was doing at Faith's. She was always a handful and Faith wasn't really used to having her at night. Spike just hoped that Katie didn't decide that the Summers home looked like the one from Home Alone. He'd had enough trouble trying to get her to not booby trap their home let alone stop her doing it altogether.

**X**

Faith looked at the stairs in dismay. "Katie," she bellowed, not expecting an answer nor getting one.

She trudged up the sticky stairway wincing at the thought of cleaning the honey before a heavy thud caught her attention. Her eyes opened wide as the now-empty weapons chest hurtled down the stairs and into her knees, carrying her to the bottom of the steps.

Faith dusted herself off in exasperation before she jogged up the steps and, following the honey footprints, into her room.

"Argh!" Katie screamed, swinging with all her might.

Faith casually plucked the tiny axe from the girl's fingers. "Do you want to explain yourself?"

Katie looked up, all wide-eyed innocence. "I hadta stop the robbers, Auntie Fayt. I hadta."

**X**

Spike sighed and pulled the collar of his dress shirt away from his neck. Restricted breathing was never a problem for him, but it brought back unpleasant memories to have that chafing pressure there again. He'd worn a suit for this bloody date, and a damned nice one too. And he was being stood up.

He slouched a little more in his chair. Talk about a blow to his ego. Some bint pesters Dawn to ask him out for her then she stands him up. At first he'd thought maybe it was traffic - although he couldn't see how in the town the size of Sunnydale - and then he'd thought maybe it was being fashionably late. Now, he'd never really dated as a human, or at all, but he was reasonably sure that fashionably late was ten or fifteen minutes, not an hour and a half.

Taking off his tie and cramming it into a pocket, the vampire undid the top few buttons of his shirt. That was something of a relief. He made a decision that he'd wait for another five minutes then he'd just leave.

**X**

Buffy sprinted as fast as she could. She'd had to change her shoes, which meant she'd had to change her outfit again. Now she was really, _really_ late and he probably wasn't even there anymore but she couldn't just not go. Tucking her head down Buffy tried to run faster, cursing her heels the whole time.

She was breathless by the time she arrived at the restaurant and she took a deep calming breath or two then walked inside. She spotted Spike right away, sitting at a table towards the back of the restaurant. His peroxide blond head shone in the dim light, and it looked like he was wearing a suit.

Taking a deep breath, Buffy began to cross the romantically lit room, he stood up in irritation. Buffy opened her mouth to apologise for being so late when he turned around. He was in a suit, and he looked damned good. The dark blue materiel hung on him like it was supposed to, and she could see his pale collarbone through the open collar of his crisp white shirt.

Buffy closed her mouth to keep from drooling.

**X**

Spike looked at Buffy in surprise. He hadn't expected to bump into her here. She was wearing a green dress, and her cheeks were red. She looked just as shocked at seeing him as he was seeing her.

"Don't worry, Slayer," he assured her, looking around surreptitiously for her date. "I'll be out of your hair shortly. Seems I was stood up."

The Slayer blinked and opened her mouth. Spike waited patiently. "Me too," she finally blurted.

Spike raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Didn't you just get here?"

"I should have been here ages ago," Buffy explained uneasily.

Spike shrugged elegantly. "I think I'm just going to patrol for a bit then go home."

"I'll come with you!" Buffy said hurriedly.

"In that?" he asked, looking pointedly at her billowy dress.

The Slayer gave a plastic laugh and shook her head. "No, of course not. I've got to go get changed, first."

"Restfield, half hour?"

**X**

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_! Why couldn't she just say 'Spike, I'm your date and I'm sorry I'm so late'? It even rhymed!

She pulled the white tank top over her head then hurried to touch up her lipstick. Grabbing the pack of cigarettes and the six-pack - both generously supplied by Faith - and began her walk to Restfield Cemetery.

Spike was having a smoke by the gates, wrapped once more in his familiar duster. She presented him the gifts brightly.

"Maybe these will make up for you being stood up," she tried gamely.

He looked at the beer in disbelief. "Somebody let you buy beer?"

"Uh, no," Buffy said, a little embarrassed. "Faith bought it."

An odd expression stole its way across the vampire's face. "Oh."

"What 'oh'?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing," he replied hurriedly.

"'Oh' isn't nothing," Buffy countered. "'Oh' is something."

"It's just, something that Isabelle said," Spike explained. Buffy's face turned blank. "She said that either you or Faith were, y'know, interested in me," he continued, his raised eyebrow making it abundantly clear exactly how interested.

Buffy's mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"Oh, don't worry Slayer," Spike chuckled merrily. "I know it wouldn't be you. It's just been a bit… odd, knowing Faith is interested is all."

**X**

Buffy felt like someone had hollowed out her chest. Spike thought it was laughable that she might like him?

"Spike, I," Buffy began, then stopped. Why couldn't she just say it? 'Spike, I like you'. The words were easy. She wanted to say them. She opened her mouth to say them. The words refused to come out.

"It's okay, Slayer," Spike said softly. "I know."

Buffy blinked. She didn't know if she was elated or crushed. Maybe, she decided, she should wait to see his reaction first.

"Isabelle figured it out," he said, throwing her into a deeper confusion. "How long have you known you're gay?"

"Huh?" Buffy asked, puzzled.

"Isabelle said you were either a horrible liar, or a lesbian," Spike explained. "I know you don't like me."

"Can I borrow your coat?" Buffy asked faintly. "I'm feeling really cold all of a sudden."

Spike nodded and slipped the duster off. Buffy wrapped herself in the comforting scent and texture of the worn leather - blood and alcohol and cigarette smoke and Spike - and took a deep breath or three.

"Spike, I…"

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ Evil cliffhanger! This chapter originally held the next confrontation but it didn't work out. I'm tired, this chapter was hard to write. I've been pretty depressed lately, just life getting me down, so it's been harder than usual to write a light-hearted fic. I think I managed this chapter pretty well, all considered. Most likely won't be a chapter next week (seeing as I have trial exams) but it should, hopefully, be back on schedule the week after. Of course, some nice REVIEWS might sway my mind. I'm just fickle that way._


	13. Missing scenes

**A/N:**_ This chapter is mostly filler. It is mostly filler for two reasons; one, I am an evil bitca who loves to leave you all with cliff hangers and two, I've had a bunch of stuff keeping me busy in life and seeing Advent Children has me writing a FFVII fic that is still quite a ways from being posted. I'm just all distracted and excited and junk. I'll try to write more quickly because the end of this story is in sight. Y'know, if you're me and all. Anyway, only the first and last scene are within the actual time of the story._

**Disclaimer:**_ This fic has been nominated for a few awards. I will save you all of my gushing that I've been doing at my friends and simply extend a thanks to the person or persons who nominated me. If you'd like to see what I was nominated for, just have a little look-see at my profile page._

**XXXXX**

**Missing scenes**

The dank sewer chamber was filled with green light as the portal opened. A demon stepped through, shading his eyes with one hand as the portal winked out of existence. He dusted his expensive black suit with one red scaled hand. He looked around with black eyes.

"Where the hell is everyone?" he asked irately, his voice oddly sibilant.

A rat-like demon jumped to its feet and clutched its ragged clothes to its chest. "What are you?"

"I'm the Nerilthen," he said pointedly. "Why aren't you and your brethren observing the rites of Hokeruthem?"

"You're late!" it chittered angrily

The elegant demon stared incredulously. "Do you have _any_ idea how busy I am?" he demanded. "I had to show up in about six dimensions for seven summonings in the last week and you're going to quibble over seven damned minutes?"

The rat wrinkled his nose. "Seven minutes? You're weeks late!"

The lizard demon rolled his eyes. "Please don't tell me you were too stupid to factor in the Sumerian's calendar with the Babylonian lunar cycle."

The rat stared blankly.

"I have this problem every single time I have to come to this crappy dimension," he sighed. "Last time I was here I made revisions to the damned spell and you lot still can't figure it out? How hard is a little bit of advanced calculus?"

"What should I do for you, master?" the rat murmured obsequiously.

"Get the rest of you down here," he said before wrinkling his nose. "On second thought, find a better place than this because this place stinks. It's downright unhygienic."

"And then?"

"Then we do what I'm here to do," he replied with a toothy grin.

**XXX**

_Any time after Chapter 7. Revelations_

Oz stared.

David stared back.

It was decidedly odd, Oz decided after some musing, to find someone other than Angel who could simply stare. Most people twitched or got bored, tried talking. After seeing the three little hellions he was very surprised a child was capable of this lack of motion.

David adjusted his glasses and, for one instant, looked exactly like Rupert Giles.

Oz couldn't help himself. "You lose."

David scowled and Oz felt his heart wrench. He had Willow's frown.

"Why aren't you playing with them?" Oz asked after a time, nodding towards the three rampaging children in the other room.

"They're too loud," David explained. "I like it here."

Oz steeled himself for spending time with the living embodiment of his worst mistake: leaving Willow.

**XXX**

_Shortly before Chapter 8. Achievements_

"Do you really have to go?" Katie asked plaintively.

Angel nodded solemnly and hugged the little girl tightly. "Afraid I do, Rosie. Someone has to make sure Auntie Fred is looking after herself."

Katie pouted harder when Angel ruffled her hair. "I don't want you to go yet, Uncle Poof," she whined. "You didn't take me to a circus!"

"There isn't a circus around here, sweety," he tried to explain.

"You're just not looking hard enough," she accused darkly. "'sides, you haven't seen me go to school yet."

"I have to go, sweety," he murmured. "They need me back in L.A."

"_I_ don't need you in L.A.," she sulked.

Shaking his head, Angel deemed the situation a lost cause and stood to make his goodbyes to everyone else. "Spike, I'll catch you later."

"Later Peaches," the other vampire nodded, before grinning suggestively. "Don't have too much fun when you get back to your lady, it'd be a right pain in the ass to have to hunt Angelus down."

Angel rolled his eyes. "Faith."

The Slayer smirked. "Angel."

"Feel free to stop by whenever," he said with a soft smile. "Buffy."

"Angel," Buffy nodded.

"You'll have to come by for a visit soon," he told her. "Fred would love to meet you."

"I'll try," Buffy promised.

"I better go," Angel said to the room at large. "I only have a few hours before sunrise."

**XXX**

_Continued scene from Chapter 9. When animals attack_

Oz lay back in the bed and listened to the shower patter quietly in the bathroom. That had been something. He opened his eyes as he felt a subtle shift in the room and found himself looking at a very startled Buffy.

"Uh, Buffy?"

The blonde girl continued to stare.

"This is kinda a bad time," Oz said, as unruffled as ever. "Next time, call first?"

He continued to stare into the empty air as she disappeared. Well. That was something a little bit different. The sounds of water falling cut short suddenly, and Oz heard the soft padding of feet and turned to face the doorway before she returned.

"Who are you talking to, babe?" she asked in her throaty voice.

"No-one," he said, knowing it was easier than explaining… anything.

"Well," she pouted, sliding to lay her body on his, "we might have to fix that."

"Jools, you just had a shower," Oz pointed out dryly.

She grinned lasciviously. "Maybe I'm still dirty."

Oz nuzzled her neck. "Smell clean to me."

"Care to remedy that?"

**XXX**

_Any time after Chapter 9. When animals attack_

Katie dug her spoon into the massive bowl of Coco Pops with determination. Faith watched in amazement. The little girl was very one-minded in some respects, and her choice of foods was one of them. She would eat Coco Pops fifteen times a day if she thought she could get away with it and it always amazed Faith how much of the damned cereal she could put away without throwing up.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked the child drolly. Katie nodded rapidly and shot the Slayer a chocolate coated grin before returning to her single-minded determination to destroy the cereal as fast as possible. "How's school been, Kiddo?"

"S'okay," she managed between bites. "Andy follows me around 'cos I saved him really hard in the head with the stick and Juliet has lotsa things to talk about like building houses and bridges so the monsters can eat all of Alyson's princesses because they don't want to play and Seth keeps climbing the tree even though Miss said he wasn't s'posedta and Miss locked Vani up in a glass cage that keeps it from being evil so I don't have to kill it but we still don't let Seth get too close because it wants to eat him."

"You saved Andy really hard in the head with a stick?" Faith asked slowly, trying to decode the ramblings.

"Uh-huh," Katie nodded with her spoon in her mouth. "There was this big rat as big as his head and Marc said he saw it explode when I saved Andy in the head only I didn't have any bits on me like you and Daddy sometimes have well I did have some but they were Andy bits not rat bits but maybe rat bits look exactly like Andy bits so maybe Marc was right and there were rat bits but Juliet didn't see any rat bits and she was looking extra hard while Miss was yelling to keep the rats from coming back to eat Andy all up."

"You saved Andy really hard in the head with a stick?" Faith asked again, trying to understand.

"Yeah," Katie said blithely. "Even though he was a bloody wanker."

**XXX**

Buffy suppressed the rising panic. Soon, it'd be over. One way or the other, she'd have her answer. If he said no, she could pine away in peace and look elsewhere for love. If he said yes, well, she wouldn't dwell on that unless it happened. Always better to be pleasantly surprised than horribly crushed.

"Spike, I…" she began hesitantly. "Spike, I like you."

Spike smiled fondly at her. "I like you too, Slayer," he said warmly. Buffy felt her heart soar before noticing it was the same smile he'd use for Willow. The anxiety came roaring back.

"I mean, I like you like you," she clarified.

Spike stared blankly. Buffy wrapped herself in the comforting warmth of the duster. "You…"

"Like you," Buffy supplied with false cheer.

He looked confused. "But you like girls."

"No, no I don't," the Slayer said, mortified.

"I don't know what to say," Spike mumbled.

"I just… I just need to know, okay?" Buffy pleaded. "Is there a chance at all that there could be something between us? Again?"

An acutely harassed expression was on the vampire's face. "I need time to think. I don't… I need time."

Buffy gripped his forearm tightly. "Please. Yes or no?"

She stared into his cerulean eyes intently. Sudden terror clenched its fist around her heart. Suddenly she knew, with ice cold certainty, that he wasn't interested. She'd missed her chance. He'd moved on. He wasn't interested anymore. She felt close to tears.

Spike opened his mouth. "Buffy…"

XXX

**A/N:**_ Evil, I know. Immensely evil, in point of fact. Still, a lot of these scenes are ones I wanted to include but didn't for various reasons. Like forgetting, never having the time, being too focussed on the primary plot and not having a good place to put them. Next chapter should be longer, but I'm pretty burned out at the moment. I'm actually trying to bring a little bit of plot into this fic, and I find it easier to break it into manageable pieces._


	14. Tired Old Story

**A/N:**_ Finally, I update. I'm sorry all, but I should be finishing this story very soon. I have the spare time to do so. Barring unforseen difficulties, I will do so. This is a very evil chapter, _very_ evil but it is as long as I can make it without ruining the ending to apologise for not updating in so long. _

**Disclaimer:**_ I've cancelled all plans I had for the sequel to Progeny. I'll save you time now and say that no amount of begging, bargaining or threatening will get me to put it back on the To Do list. All of the ideas I had for that fic would work better as an original piece, because mostly it ignored the Jossverse. So in the near future, I may be working on an original piece which I hope you'd all be interested in reading. In all likelihood I'll simply move on to a new story that takes my fancy or finish some of my older ones._

**XXXXX**

**Tired Old Story**

"Katie, it's time for bed," Faith bellowed, stomping through the house in her search for the tiny blonde child.

"Katie doesn't want to go to bed," a tiny piping voice said from the dining room.

"Well, Katie doesn't have a choice tonight," Faith said through grit teeth.

"You're more right there than you realise," a deep, smooth baritone said behind Faith.

The Slayer spun, her fist already flying to hit the intruder, only to be thrown through the air landing with a crash on the dining room table.

The red scaled demon in a well-tailored suit raised a perfectly manicured hand. "**Constrictum**," he muttered, fingers dancing an arcane sigil in the air. "I'm afraid I'm here to kidnap the girl."

Faith struggled against her bonds wildly, her eyes widening when she saw a blonde shadow dart into a safer area.

The demon seemed to take this as a cue to talk.

"Really sorry about using such a cliché technique, but I'm kind of in a hurry so do be a dear and tell Buffy Summers - I'm sorry, but is that her real name? Not a nick name or anything? Dear God, what people do to their children. Anyway, be a love and let Buffy know that I'm perfectly happy to give the little girl back in exchange for her. Oh, and let William know that Jim has her at the train station, and if that doesn't ring any bells remind him of Prussia in the winter of 1902. Now, if you'll just come along, sweetheart. My, aren't you a feisty little thing. So much of your mother in you, although you seem to have your father's knack for picking the most inappropriate fights. Careful, dove. Don't want to hurt yourself with that axe so why don't you give that to me? Does your daddy know you're using his weapons? No? Well, we can keep that between us. I'll catch you later, Faith, because I'm quite sure you'll be along with the rescue party."

The demon, a scowling Katie caught roughly in one hand and the dainty axe Katie had tried to use to kneecap the Slayer earlier in the other, disappeared in a wink of purple light and Faith felt the spell holding her down evaporate instantly. Hurriedly pulling her cell phone out of her pocket and dialled Spike's number. This was bad.

**XXX**

Spike opened his mouth. "Buffy…"

The Slayer looked at him in wide-eyed entreaty. The vampire ran a hand through his hair before nervously reaching for a cigarette that wasn't there. Unsure what to do with his hands, he pushed them into the pockets of his duster.

"Buffy, I," he began before a ringing sound cut him off. With a look of relief on his face Spike fished out a mobile phone.

"Let it ring," Buffy pleaded. "I need to know."

"This'll be important," Spike said weakly, panicked. 'This is the emergency phone."

Buffy felt like tearing her hair out in frustration.

"Hello? What? When! Listen, call the others and let them know and we'll all meet there in ten minutes. No, no, tell Xander and Anya to watch the other kids as planned. I know, I know. Give Oz a ring, he might be able to help them and it won't hurt to have a werewolf there. Yeah, added protection. See you in five," Spike finished grimly, hanging up the phone.

Buffy looked at him questioningly.

"Katie's been kidnapped."

**XXX**

"I hardly think that's true," Jim's oddly smooth voice rebutted.

"It is," Katie asserted seriously. "You look silly in that suit."

"Do you even have any idea how rude that is?" Jim asked suddenly. "How would you like it if I said you look silly in what you're wearing?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "I'm in my pajammies," she replied scornfully. "They're not supposed to be pretty, they're supposed to be comfy."

Jim scowled at the little girl sitting imperiously on his favourite chair. Honestly, demon spawn these days had no respect for their elders. "This suit is very comfy."

Katie shook her head. "Only pajammies are s'posedta be comfy. Everything else is supposed to look pretty."

Jim opened his mouth to argue the point when one of the rattin demons entered and bowed obsequiously. "What do you want?" he snapped waspishly.

"Everything is ready, sir," it chittered.

Jim brightened for a moment. "Have you gotten the chairs set up?"

The thing stared blankly. "Chairs?"

Jim set his jaw in frustration. "Yes, chairs. As in, something I can sit in because I'm not standing while the Slayer and her delightful friends come to kill me. Oh, and get a stool for the girl, too," he added as an afterthought.

"Of course," it squeaked, before backing out of the room at speed.

"I swear, they are absolutely moronic," Jim muttered.

Katie nodded seriously. "They're pretty stupid, too."

Jim rolled his eyes but nodded. "Not to mention their hygiene is appalling."

Katie's brow furrowed delicately. Well, Jim considered after looking at the expression, delicately for the child of a vampire. "Does that mean they're smelly? 'cos Auntie Bit tolded me one time if you don't take lotsa baths when Daddy says that you get unfigenik and all smelly and you carry zillions of tiny monsters that try and make you sick but instead of eating you they make you all snotty and not pretty at all."

"Something like that," he said in a non-committal tone.

"They wear ugly clothes too," she said after a moments more consideration.

"That's their skin," Jim informed her dryly.

Katie wrinkled her nose. "Eww."

"Tell me about it," Jim muttered. He straightened a little when a thought occurred. "And my clothes are not ugly!"

**XXX**

The reptilian demon lounged in a makeshift throne in the centre of the platform. Katie was pouting on a small wooden stool, casting jealous glances at the throne and angry glares at the finely attired demon. Buffy stared around wildly, noting with some unease the number of suspicious shadows and potential hiding places. This was a surprisingly good place for an ambush and she didn't like it.

The demon brightened, his eyes shining in the dim light, when he noticed the group had entered. "Ah, the inestimable Miss Summers, I presume. And William, good to see you again, dear chap. You cannot be anyone but Rupert Giles and his lovely wife, Willow. It's an absolute joy to meet people of your standing in the demon world, I assure you. Faith, always a pleasure. Please put the crossbow away, this can be an entirely bloodless exchange. It would probably be better for all of you if it stayed bloodless.'

Spike took a threatening step towards the enemy, quivering with rage. "Give me back my daughter," he snarled.

The demon, Jim, blinked slowly. "Of course," he said slowly, before prodding the tiny blonde girl in the shoulder with one finely scaled digit. "Go on, get."

Katie poked her tongue out at her captor before sprinting across the cold concrete, her bare feet slapping loudly in the quiet, and leaping into her father's arms. Spike squeezed her tightly, murmuring into her hair, before dropping her with Giles who ushered her to the entrance of the station.

"Well, now we've gotten that regrettably annoying bit of our dealings out of the way," Jim said brightly, ignoring the five and a half death glares aimed at him.

"What do you want?" Spike interrupted rudely.

"William," Jim said in a disappointed tone. "William, how can you be so very rude? I know Angelus gave you a better education than that. Well, regardless, I'm here to kill Buffy."

Buffy started. "What?"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," Jim replied sincerely. "How rude of me. I haven't explained." He stood gracefully, dusting his suit as he did so. "I'm not really going to kill you, you see. You're already dead. Mrs Giles née Rosenberg's spell was poorly worded and the attempt slowly pieced your fragmented soul together by using the runoff from the Hellmouth. Oh, don't look so glum, the Hellmouth itself isn't bad - it's just power that shields something very bad. Unfortunately, this means that several of the more sensitive kind of demon live in excruciating agony. Agony so bad that they felt the need to call me."

Buffy shrugged with one shoulder. "Why would I care that a bunch of demons are getting hurt?"

Jim smiled enigmatically. "I think you should care much more than you seem to. Now, I'm not so vain as to think I'm invincible, or that I can't be beaten. It hasn't happened yet, though, and I'm always careful to make sure it doesn't happen. I don't lose, Ms Summers. Now, I'm sure you're sizing me up and trying to figure out how many of us you'll have to kill before we run off. It's a perfectly understandable sentiment, really, I'm just afraid that it wouldn't be advisable. There are thirty of my employers in the room right now, which are well within your power to contain. It's the ninety outside the door, preventing the escape of the… delightful child that you should be more concerned about."

Buffy stared in shock at the demon. Behind her back, Spike shot Willow a questioning look. She nodded slightly in response.

"Feel free to have a moment among yourselves to decide how you're going to act in this situation."

"Don't think that's necessary, mate," Spike snarled before dashing at the demon.

Jim sighed elegantly. "Honestly, you people never give up."

Five feet from the reptilian creature, Spike hit an invisible wall and was repelled backwards. Dozens of the short rattin demons scurried from their hiding places. A few bore crude weapons, chair legs and the like, but most only brandished their yellowed claws.

Buffy lashed out with a foot, clipping one of the foul creatures in the head, and she glanced behind her to see Giles ushering Katie to the back corner, well away from the door. Moments later, the promised ninety began pouring through the entrance, a tide of fur.

The Slayer pulled a stake out of her waistband before losing herself in the melee. Ducking, punching, kicking, the Slayer could hear the slight whir of the gears in her robotic body. The sound of fist on flesh, foot cracking bone, stake rending fur filled the air.

In a moment of reprieve, she scanned the terminal wildly. Spike and Giles were standing in front of Katie, the vampire yellow eyed and furious, the Watcher cold and efficient. Katie stared on with wide eyes. Faith was wielding a pair of knives to great effect, if the pile of mangy corpses she left in her wake were an indication. Willow stood in a field of emptiness, her eyes white and lips moving soundless as she stared right at the red demon at the other end of the platform. Beads of sweat poured down her face constantly.

Buffy darted between her opponents and sprinted towards Spike and his daughter before spinning to face another wave of reckless rattin demons. Teeth tore at her skin, never strongly but often leaving small scratches that would have slowed a human body. After what seemed an eternity, the creatures scattered, fleeing from the seemingly unbeatable foes.

Keeping one eye on the escaping demons, Buffy took inventory. Faith was leaning heavily against a wall, her face pale and her eyelids half closed but she nodded to Buffy she was fine. Willow still stood unharmed and ramrod straight opposite the demon. Giles was sitting down, tending a wound on his thigh but otherwise unharmed. Spike was bleeding from a dozen wounds she could see, several of them serious, but he moved as though he hadn't even begun yet and fury blazed in his eyes.

The demon started clapping. "Bravo, people. No casualties and you sent them scampering. Honestly, I'm impressed. A shame your witch isn't faring better," he said, sounding genuinely sad. "If things keep up she might make it out of my traps okay but who knows how sane she'll be when she does? A shame, really. I'd heard she had a wonderful mind. Now, Buffy, if you'll kindly let me-"

"Enough!" Spike snarled suddenly, darting forward, a blur. He closed most of the ground to the demon before it could even raise a hand, but once it did he was thrown backwards as though belted in the head with an iron bar.

"Don't you hurt my Daddy!" Katie screamed, hurling herself towards the demon at maximum velocity.

Buffy's fingers brushed the fabric of the girl's top as she streaked past. Katie's feet sounded obscenely loud as they slapped on the floor. Spike rose his head groggily. Buffy leapt after the child as fast as her body could take her. A shadow descended from the roof. The lone rattin demon landed in front of Katie, stopping her short. It's claws slid out silently. Spike leapt to his feet, hurtling towards his daughter and the demon. A spray of blood wetting the platform as the rattin swung its arm. Katie collapsing to the cold concrete.

With an inhuman roar, Spike slammed his fist into the rattin's head over and over again, reducing it to a bloody, torn mess. Buffy fell to her knees next to Katie, guilt and fear and numbness threatening to overcome her system. She stared blindly at the four clear lines on the girl's chest, welling with blood. She breathed in, a wet rattle.

"Spike," Buffy said urgently. "Katie!"

Dropping the corpse like it had never interested him, Spike picked up his daughter and cradled her in his arms, murmuring comfortingly to her. Tears filled his eyes as he gently stroked her hair and rocked her.

She coughed fluidly and her eyes opened and focussed on Spike. "Daddy's shouldn't cry," she said weakly, frowning faintly and raising a hand weakly to Spike's face before coughing again and falling unconscious.

**XXX**

**A/N:**_ Like I said, Evil. Evil, Evil, Evil. Capital E. There are two more chapters to come, although for some of you the story might end with the next chapter. I'll explain it more then, but for those of you who are happy with the way the story ends in the next chapter you might want to let that be the end for you. Of course, you're all free to read the epilogue that follows. And thus my glorious return to updating._


	15. Ever After is a long time

**A/N:**_ It's been a twisty road to this point. This is one ending of the story. For some of you, this trip ends here. There will be one more chapter, but if you are happy with this ending I would simply let it be the final chapter for you. Make sure you review if you've enjoyed this story, because it was not very easy to write it all up and it was the reviews which kept me at it. _

**Disclaimer:**_ A change of perspective for these final two chapters. I hope you enjoy this chapter, especially if it's the last one you read. Have fun. Oh, and there should probably be a warning for some naughty language and adult themes._

**XXXXX**

**Ever After is a long time**

You know that old saying, life's a bitch and then you die? Yeah, well, I can tell you from personal experience that's only half of what the saying is.

Life is a bitch and then you die, after which you can embarrass your daughter with your disgustingly juvenile and stomach turningly touchy-feely behaviour.

My mom and dad are both dead, which, y'know, sucks. Especially when they insist on eating all of the popcorn even though neither of them even need food. God, they're so selfish! At least that's better than when they both start making out in the couch that I'm sitting on. That's just… creepy.

See, my dad is a vampire. He died like, two hundred years before I was even born or something and then he went and boinked some ex vampire lady who was dying of syphilis. I'm not too sure about that. Mom gets pretty pissy when the story comes up and then things between them get all sexual and I have to leave the room.

Mom is a bit more normal. Well, sorta. She only died the year before I was born, but she was also dead for a little bit a few years before that, long story. She's not my real mom, but she is kinda. I mean, she's been around for years and years, since I was like, four or something so she's the only mom I've ever known.

It's kinda sickening that in a few years I'll look older than them, too. Hell, Mom and I get mistaken for sisters all the time and not even in that kiss-ass way that strangers get to old ladies and it totally sucks because I'm a natural blonde, but Mom is so obviously a Clairol girl.

Of course, having such young looking parents isn't so great when you want friends to behave.

----------

"So, Mrs Barclay," Marc began smoothly, leaning back on the bench next to her. "Have you given any more thought to my proposal?"

Buffy suppressed a smirk and continued to wipe the glasses in the sink. "I don't know, Marc."

"Ah, Mrs B," the boy sighed melodramatically. "Your husband doesn't love you like I do."

Buffy snickered a little before gaining control of herself. "That may be true, but I don't think Will would like it if I ran away with you."

"You should, nay, you must let me express my love physically," Marc said fervently. "Mr B doesn't have to know."

Buffy finally laughed out loud and shoved the boy from the kitchen. "Go on, get!"

"We could do it right now," Marc argued as he was moved inexorably out of the clean kitchen. "He's in there getting seduced by all of Katie's tarty friends!"

Buffy laughed again and Spike's British timbre barked, "Stay away from my wife, you little tosser."

"I'm so misunderstood," Marc lamented as he trudged to the living room. He carefully adjusted his thin jacket and glanced about the room before dropping himself on Seth's lap.

"Hey, get the hell off me," Seth complained, shoving at his friend.

"Please, don't interrupt my teenage angst," Marc said politely, affecting an expression of such pained dimensions that Juliet rolled her eyes and hurled a cushion at the boy.

"Can you finish the story, Mr Barclay?" Alyson asked shyly, blushing when the vampire gave her his trademark smirk.

"Yeah, Spike," Juliet agreed suggestively, leaning forward to show off an ample amount of neck and bosom.

"Ah, yeah," Spike replied, eyeing Juliet cautiously. "So there we were, Katie bleeding out of a massive wound and everyone beaten and bloody. The evil demon gloated above us and began to chant the spell that would have banished Buffy's soul into the ether. So I jumped up real quick and hurtled at the demon, wrapped my hands around his neck and snapped it like a dry twig,"

The girls began to murmur appreciatively when Seth said, "You know, Mr B, I spoke to my dad about that and he said you sat their crying and it was one Rupert Giles who fired a surprise crossbow bolt into the demon's neck, ending his life."

Spike's eyes goggled. "That's a load of bollocks!" he exploded. "Your bloody dad wasn't even there!"

"You know," Marc said loudly, "I wouldn't have simply cried. I would have protected my woman."

Spike snarled and leaned towards the boy threateningly as Buffy's laughter echoed through the house. "Listen, you little wanker," the vampire growled, gripping the boy's collar threateningly.

"Mrs B," he yelped. "Save me from your brutal husband!"

"Dad, let him go," Katie ordered as she waltzed in from her bedroom. "I know he's an idiot but the police will want to know who killed him if he turns up dead."

Seth let out a wolf whistle as he took in the blonde's ensemble, tight black leather pants and a red halter top.

Marc scrabbled away from Spike before looking Katie up and down very deliberately. "That's quite an outfit you have on, Miss Barclay. Why don't you come and sit on my lap?" Marc asked, patting his thigh. "We can talk about anything that pops up."

"Right, that's it," Spike growled and Marc bolted towards the kitchen.

"Mrs B, help," he wailed as Spike chased after him.

"You look nice, Caitlin," Andy said adoringly.

Katie smiled brightly at him and twirled. "It's not too much?"

Juliet, who was wearing something similar but more revealing, insinuated an arm into Katie's. "Not at all, my friend," she murmured. "Now, when your dad is tired of chasing Marc we can finally go out and celebrate your sweet sixteenth."

"I wouldn't say she's sweet," Seth muttered wryly, and got a ladylike punch in the arm for his trouble. He turned puppy dog eyes on his girlfriend Alyson. "Baby, look what she did to me."

Katie rolled her eyes when he shot her a victorious smirk over the fussing girl's head. "Let's go, guys."

The group made their way to the front door and they waited impatiently while Marc sprinted his way through the house to reach them. A glowering Spike and a beaming Buffy stood at the door to see them all off.

As they made their way into the street Spike bellowed, "All of you little berks better keep your sodding fingers to yourselves or I'll snap them off, one by one!"

Marc spun theatrically on his heel. "I can't be held responsible, Mr B! My animal magnetism is simply too strong for the lovely young ladies, such as your wife and daughter, to keep their hands to themselves!"

Spike growled again and only Buffy's firm grip on his elbow stopped him chasing the boy down and feasting on his entrails. "Behave yourself," she chided him. "He only does it to get a rise out of you."

Buffy led her husband back into the house and pressed him back against the wall, kissing at his neck. "Now who's trying to get a rise out of me?" Spike asked huskily, cocking one eyebrow at the innuendo.

The Slayer stuck her tongue out at him petulantly and he captured it in his mouth and began to kiss her deeply. The door opened and Katie stepped in before shrieking and throwing her hands up to ward off evil.

"You guys, stop, that's gross," Katie complained, clutching her stomach. "I think I'm gonna be sick. Oh, God, blind me now! It's the last time I ever forget my keys."

"Mrs B, how could you?" Marc accused from the lawn. "You've broken my heart and ruined me for all other women. I hope you can live with yourself."

--------------------

It's a weird thing, my life.

Sixteen, living on a Hellmouth, two immortal, inhuman (literally) parents, a friend who is out to seduce my mother and another who is out to seduce my father. The six of us, me, Juliet, Alyson, Seth, Andy and Marc, are the only ones in our entire school who are even aware of the danger you're in when you go out at night in Sunnydale.

Well, Sarah knows too, and Alyson's mom is the IT teacher and she knows, and I kinda think our History teacher is some sort of demon as well, and I think the janitors know because they all have crosses when they're cleaning after school and I've seen a few of the kids staring at my dad a little strangely.

Okay, so a lot of people know about the dangers of Sunnydale. But I'm the only one who lives with one of them. Well, Seth's mom is kinda an ex-vengeance demon. And now that I think about it, I think Dad mentioned something about Lisa's mom being a werewolf. Okay, so I'm not the only one of those either.

I am, without a doubt, the prettiest, though.

I guess my life's not so bad. I have friends, family, my health, stunning good looks and a snappy wardrobe. I'm young, and I've got the rest of my life ahead of me.

Barring an apocalypse.

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ Well, that's it. I couldn't think of a better way to end this fic (for some of you) than with a glimpse into the future. It's short, sweet, and hopefully it caused a snicker or two. As for how the demon Jim was really vanquished, who do you really believe? Spike? Xander? It will always be a mystery. Actually, it won't. For those of you who are content with this as an ending, then this is the end and I hope you have enjoyed the experience. Let me know what you thought of it in a review._


	16. Ever After is a very long time

**A/N: **_Here it is, the conclusion to Progeny. It's been a long time coming. I had a lot of personal business pop up. Still, this is done and it's a little existential or whatever. I hope you enjoy._

**XXXXXX**

**Ever After is a very long time**

The rain pelted down. Uncommonly dense grey clouds blanketed the Californian sky. Even under the heavy scents of rain and wet earth there was an undertone of death. A common theme in cemetaries.

The mourners stood huddled together, their heads bowed with grief. Tear streaked faces stared blankly at the heavy oak coffin. Rain soaked their clothes, sapping wrmth and life from their limbs but not a single one of them even contemplated taking their umbrella away from sheltering the casket. She had always hated the rain.

The minister's words could not be heard above the poudning rain and howling wind. The sense of isolation was oppresive, each person trapped within their own pain and loss.

Thunder roared on the horizon and the wind quieted, the slowed to a drizzle. The minister's deep, melodic voice was suddenly audible.

"While those we love pass on, our love for them remains behind – an indelible mark on the lives of all who knew her. Her legacy shall live as long as our memory. As long as our love."

The merest echo of infectious, joyous laughter could be heard amidst the thunderous return of the storm. More than one bittersweet smile crossed a pale, wind-bitten face.

**XXX**

Long after the funeral had ended, two stood at the foot of the grave. Blond hair was plastered to their skulls but not even the torrential rain could mask his terrible grief. Hollow blue eyes stared sightlessly, ignoring the stinging wind.

His pale hand gripped the tanned hand of his partner with bone-crushing strength, a grasp that was returned tightly. A gaping hole sat in his chest, aching to be filled with dancing eyes and warm words. Fragments of images filled his mind. A smile. Tiny hands. Blonde hair gleaming in the sun.

Such was the cost of immortality. No, the price of humaniy. An eternity of freedom had once stretched before him endlessly, near infinite possibilities. He'd been able to slide from one day to the next seamlessly, life nothing more than the hunt, the kill, the fight. Time and again he'd been given chances to return to that life.

Instead he'd tied himself to humans, transient creatures, their lives not even a blink of Eternity's eye, less than a heartbeat. To trade such fragments of joy for the promise of lifetimes of pain, loss, despair. Ten, twenty, fifty years of happiness was less than a feather to the mountain of eternity.

It didn't have to be that way. He and she could simply leave. Spend eternity together. Travel the world. Revel in their freedom, their eternal youth, one another. It'd be unfair of the others to ask them to stay, to stand this pain, to suffer each death, to feel. He stared at the white marble of the tombstone and the careful engraving on it.

**Caitlin Roselyn Barclay**

**A True Miracle**

It would be so simple to disappear. Get away from the Hellmouth, away from the fight. Bury themselves in the faceless masses. They'd done their part. More than their part. They'd both died for this fight. They didn't owe anybody anything. They deserved a chance to grasp whatever slice of heaven that their kind, killers, could hope to get. To just... be free.

"Better head back, love. The others'll be waiting."

He had always been love's bitch.

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ And there it is. Very good odds I won't be writing any more fanfic for a while although I will be writing some. I'll be attempting to write a seventy-five thousand original fiction in thirty days. Hopefully the experience will help me get a handle on my writing. I still intend to come back to fanfiction but it will not be for a time. Probably not as long as it's been since my last update (which was some four months ago) but a while yet. If you are interested in seeing how my original piece is going, there will be a link to my fictionpress account where it will be hosted. Posting starts on the first of April. I hope you enjoyed this story._


End file.
